Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 19 December (HL3453, HL3455 and HL3456), whether the multi-agency guidelines to support better co-ordination of guidance on protecting girls from female genital mutilation have any relationship to public agencies in Scotland; and if not, what coordination exists between those guidelines and the guidelines that operate in Scotland.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The multi-agency practice guidelines on FGM are designed for application in England
and Wales. The guidelines include a weblink to information on the Scottish Government’s work on FGM.
The 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service apply in England and Wales only.
The 2007 and 2014 prevalence studies part-funded by the Home Office cover the number of girls and women affected by FGM in England and Wales. The full version of the 2014 study including data disaggregated at a local level in England and Wales will be published shortly.
The Government’s new specialist FGM Unit will work in consultation with partners in Scotland, as appropriate, to ensure a joined up approach to tackling FGM across the UK.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 January (HL3454), what process is in place to handle enquiries received by the female genital mutilation unit from individuals or organisations based in Scotland.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is clear that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical
and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Home Office has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.
The Government’s specialist cross-Government FGM Unit launched on 5 December. The Unit will provide outreach support to local areas in England and Wales, act as a hub for effective practice, work with the police and develop cross-government policies on FGM.
The Unit does receive enquires from individuals and organisations in Scotland which are dealt with through appropriate consultation with partners in Scotland.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 January (HL3454), whether the new female genital mutilation unit is conducting nationwide outreach across the whole of the United Kingdom or just England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is clear that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical
and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Home Office has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.
The Government’s specialist cross-Government FGM Unit launched on 5 December. The Unit will provide outreach support to local areas in England and Wales, act as a hub for effective practice, work with the police and develop cross-government policies on FGM.
The Unit does receive enquires from individuals and organisations in Scotland which are dealt with through appropriate consultation with partners in Scotland.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 January (HL3454), whether the female genital mutilation community engagement initiative funded by the Home Office covers the whole of the United Kingdom or just England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is clear that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical
and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Home Office has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.
The Government’s specialist cross-Government FGM Unit launched on 5 December. The Unit will provide outreach support to local areas in England and Wales, act as a hub for effective practice, work with the police and develop cross-government policies on FGM.
The Unit does receive enquires from individuals and organisations in Scotland which are dealt with through appropriate consultation with partners in Scotland.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 January (HL3493), whether the Forced Marriage Unit operates across the whole of the United Kingdom; and if not, what arrangements for co-ordination exist with the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Bates
The number of reported cases to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) each year does not reflect the full scale of the abuse, as many more cases go unreported. 82% of the reported number of 2013 cases involved female victims. The FMU operates across the whole of the UK, where support is provided to any individual of any nationality. It also operates overseas where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals.
The data held by the FMU cannot specifically be broken down to identify cases for advice or support relating to British girls sent abroad. To provide more detailed information on the figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, would involve a disproportionate cost. We also have no plans to publish figures in this format in future years.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 January (HL3493), whether the 1,302 cases of advice or support related to a possible forced marriage can be broken down into figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and if not, whether they can be broken down in future years.
Answered by Lord Bates
The number of reported cases to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) each year does not reflect the full scale of the abuse, as many more cases go unreported. 82% of the reported number of 2013 cases involved female victims. The FMU operates across the whole of the UK, where support is provided to any individual of any nationality. It also operates overseas where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals.
The data held by the FMU cannot specifically be broken down to identify cases for advice or support relating to British girls sent abroad. To provide more detailed information on the figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, would involve a disproportionate cost. We also have no plans to publish figures in this format in future years.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 January (HL3493), how many of the 1,302 cases identified for advice or support in 2013 were about British girls sent abroad to marry in that year.
Answered by Lord Bates
The number of reported cases to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) each year does not reflect the full scale of the abuse, as many more cases go unreported. 82% of the reported number of 2013 cases involved female victims. The FMU operates across the whole of the UK, where support is provided to any individual of any nationality. It also operates overseas where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals.
The data held by the FMU cannot specifically be broken down to identify cases for advice or support relating to British girls sent abroad. To provide more detailed information on the figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, would involve a disproportionate cost. We also have no plans to publish figures in this format in future years.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Scottish Government since the Girl Summit in July 2014 on the issue of prosecution for cases of female genital mutilation; and what specific actions have taken place as a result.
Answered by Lord Bates
Scottish Ministers have been consulted on the implementation of the commitments agreed at the Girl Summit where they impact upon Scotland. This has included discussions on measures to strengthen law enforcement on female genital mutilation(FGM) with a particular focus on some of the legal barriers in cases of FGM.
As a result the Scottish Parliament's consent is being sought for the provisions on extra territorial jurisdiction in clause 67(2) of the Serious Crime Bill amending both the FGM Act 2003 and the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Scottish Government concerning implementing the commitments agreed and announced by United Kingdom Ministers at the Girl Summit held in London in July.
Answered by Lord Bates
Scottish Ministers have been consulted on the implementation of the commitments agreed at the Girl Summit where they impact upon Scotland. This has included discussions on measures to strengthen law enforcement on female genital mutilation(FGM) with a particular focus on some of the legal barriers in cases of FGM.
As a result the Scottish Parliament's consent is being sought for the provisions on extra territorial jurisdiction in clause 67(2) of the Serious Crime Bill amending both the FGM Act 2003 and the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Scottish Government concerning the relationship between the Modern Slavery Bill and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill announced by the First Minister of Scotland on 26 November.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK Government works closely with all devolved administrations to ensure the UK delivers a coordinated response to modern slavery. The Scottish Government is represented on the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Modern Slavery, which leads this work. We have worked closely with the Scottish Government on the development of the Scottish Trafficking and Exploitation Bill, as well as the development of the Modern Slavery Bill, to ensure that legislation across the UK is coherent and effective.