Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of violence against women and girls on the number of people going missing.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we’ve made it our mission to halve it in a decade. We are deploying the full power of the state through our VAWG Strategy, which was published on 18th December 2025.

Every missing person case deserves a swift and thorough response from all safeguarding agencies. We also recognise the link between a person going missing and their vulnerability to violence against women and girls, which is why tackling VAWG remains central to our approach.

The Missing Persons Authorised Professional Practice, established by the College of Policing, provides a comprehensive national framework that police forces in England and Wales must follow in missing person investigations. Within this, the National Crime Agency (NCA) publishes an annual report setting out available data on missing persons.

Missing People Ltd has been in receipt of Home Office funding for its core support services since 2011, including its helpline. This is in recognition of the work of the police as a multiagency safeguarding partner and the role in some missing cases.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure police are aware of the potential impact of violence against women and girls has on the number of people missing people.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we’ve made it our mission to halve it in a decade. We are deploying the full power of the state through our VAWG Strategy, which was published on 18th December 2025.

Every missing person case deserves a swift and thorough response from all safeguarding agencies. We also recognise the link between a person going missing and their vulnerability to violence against women and girls, which is why tackling VAWG remains central to our approach.

The Missing Persons Authorised Professional Practice, established by the College of Policing, provides a comprehensive national framework that police forces in England and Wales must follow in missing person investigations. Within this, the National Crime Agency (NCA) publishes an annual report setting out available data on missing persons.

Missing People Ltd has been in receipt of Home Office funding for its core support services since 2011, including its helpline. This is in recognition of the work of the police as a multiagency safeguarding partner and the role in some missing cases.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of including missing people in future work to tackle violence against women and girls.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and we’ve made it our mission to halve it in a decade. We are deploying the full power of the state through our VAWG Strategy, which was published on 18th December 2025.

Every missing person case deserves a swift and thorough response from all safeguarding agencies. We also recognise the link between a person going missing and their vulnerability to violence against women and girls, which is why tackling VAWG remains central to our approach.

The Missing Persons Authorised Professional Practice, established by the College of Policing, provides a comprehensive national framework that police forces in England and Wales must follow in missing person investigations. Within this, the National Crime Agency (NCA) publishes an annual report setting out available data on missing persons.

Missing People Ltd has been in receipt of Home Office funding for its core support services since 2011, including its helpline. This is in recognition of the work of the police as a multiagency safeguarding partner and the role in some missing cases.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that polycystic ovary syndrome is explicitly recognised within the scope of digitally delivered women’s health services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that women suffering with gynaecological conditions, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have been failed for far too long, and we know that more needs to be done to support women with PCOS.

As announced in September 2025, we will establish an “online hospital”, NHS Online, which will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

In January 2026, we announced the conditions and specialities that NHS Online will initially focus on. Menstrual problems that may be a sign of several conditions, including PCOS, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027.

We’ve chosen some of the conditions with the longest waits and where online consultation works best.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) will be included among the conditions eligible for referral and treatment under the menstrual health services provided by the new NHS Online Hospital announced by NHS England on 5 January 2026.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Online will be a new, optional online service allowing patients to digitally connect with clinicians across England. In January 2026, we announced the specialities and conditions that NHS Online will initially focus on. Menstrual problems that may be a sign of several conditions, including polycystic ovary syndrome, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027. We’ve chosen some of the conditions with the longest waits and where online consultation works best.

NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.

Role of the House of Lords in scrutinising legislation

Submit Evidence (by 27 Feb 2026)

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee scrutinises the work and performance of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.