Mims Davies

The Online Safety Act puts new duties on social media companies and search services, making them responsible for their users’ safety. These include new duties tackling illegal content and activity which affects women and girls, including intimate image abuse, exploitation and other forms of abuse.

Ofcom will publish draft guidance in February, detailing measures services can take to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) online.

The government has set an unprecedented mission to halve VAWG in a decade by improving the police and criminal justice system response, relentlessly pursuing perpetrators, and providing victim support. The steps Ofcom is taking helps supports this mission by tackling harmful content online.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.

This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.

To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.

The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.

This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.

To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.

The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.

This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.

To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.

The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.

This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.

To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.

The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.

This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.

To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.

The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

A Strategic Outline Business Case was developed by Network Rail in 2021 which considered the potential benefits of electrifying the line between Hurst Green and Uckfield. This assessment concluded that the scheme would have positive impacts on train service performance and reliability, together with wider economic benefits. The scheme was paused by the previous government following Spending Review 2021; no development work has taken place since that point.

A Strategic Outline Business Case was developed by Network Rail in 2021 which considered the potential benefits of electrifying the line between Hurst Green and Uckfield. This assessment concluded that the scheme would have positive impacts on train service performance and reliability, together with wider economic benefits. The scheme was paused by the previous government following Spending Review 2021; no development work has taken place since that point.

A Strategic Outline Business Case was developed by Network Rail in 2021 which considered the potential benefits of electrifying the line between Hurst Green and Uckfield. This assessment concluded that the scheme would have positive impacts on train service performance and reliability, together with wider economic benefits. The scheme was paused by the previous government following Spending Review 2021; no development work has taken place since that point.

The Secretary of State has not made a specific assessment of the environmental impact of operating diesel trains on the Uckfield branch line.  As the line is not electrified, it is a matter for the operator to ensure that they meet the needs of customers by deploying the appropriate rolling stock to deliver train services while reducing environmental impacts wherever possible.

Ministerial Disability Champions were an initiative of the previous administration.

On 3 December 2024, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I was pleased to announce new Lead Ministers for Disability in every Government department. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/lead-ministers-for-disability

The Lead Ministers for Disability will help to break down barriers to opportunity right across our long-term missions, and to fulfil the manifesto commitment to ensure the views and voices of disabled people are properly heard.

I chaired our first meeting on 17 December and we will meet regularly to make sure that this Government is delivering on that manifesto commitment and our missions, right across every department.

As of January 2025, there were 111 Youth Hubs fully opened across Great Britain with a further three in development.

Youth Hubs are based in external-partner-owned premises. Local DWP teams and external partners delivering Youth Hubs jointly discuss the ongoing need for the hubs in particular areas. These discussions take account of a range of factors, notably the number of young people claiming Universal Credit who are searching for employment in that local area, consequently, the number of operational Youth Hubs may fluctuate month by month.

The ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper sets out this government’s plan to Get Britain Working and includes a new Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education led Youth Guarantee for all young people in England aged 18-21.

Our approach to the Youth Guarantee is to help all young people aged 18-21in England to earn or learn. We will work in partnership with organisations at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include apprenticeships, work experience, training courses or employability programmes.

Work is underway on the design and delivery of the new Youth Guarantee. Starting in spring 2025, eight Mayoral Authorities in England will pilot the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. These 12-month Trailblazers are an opportunity to develop the Youth Guarantee and test different interventions ahead of a national roll out. We will assess and incorporate our findings for future delivery and rollout of the Youth Guarantee across the rest of England, working with Mayoral Authorities and Local Authorities in our roll out plans.

We welcomed the Buckland Review of Autism Employment. This made recommendations to employers, third sector organisations and Government on addressing barriers autistic people face when seeking and remaining in employment and the Minister for Employment and I were pleased to meet Sir Robert in October to talk about his findings and key drivers for change in the workplace. He has indicated his willingness to continue to work with the department on this matter and we are continuing to build on those recommendations that were directed to Government, such as working with employers to reform Disability Confident to improve the schemes outcomes and realise the scheme's full potential.

As a Government, we want to support all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace, and we are looking to build on the Review by gathering expert evidence in line with this expanded focus. In parallel, we are working with other areas of government to promote awareness of neurodiversity amongst employers and we recently announced Keep Britain Working, a major independent review of the employer’s role in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, led by the former Chair of John Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield. Our expert evidence on neurodiversity at work will be available to inform this independent review which will help ensure employers receive a coherent set of messages from Government about inclusive workplace practices.

The Government’s Menopause Employment Ambassador Mariella Frostrup has been working with policy officials to develop an action plan for her term of engagement. She has also spoken with government departments to promote and champion the role of women in the economy and is engaging with businesses in raising awareness and influencing workplace policies.

Youth Hubs bring together employment support from a Jobcentre work coach alongside external partners on external-partner premises for up to six months. Wider support available from partners in the Hubs is place-based, but could include skills and training provision, mental health, budgeting, and housing support.

As of January 2025, there were 111 Youth Hubs fully opened across Great Britain with a further three in development.

Youth Hubs are based in external-partner-owned premises. Local DWP teams and external partners delivering Youth Hubs jointly discuss the ongoing need for the hubs in particular areas. These discussions take account of a range of factors, notably the number of young people claiming Universal Credit who are searching for employment in that local area, consequently, the number of operational Youth Hubs may fluctuate month by month.

The ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper sets out this government’s plan to Get Britain Working and includes a new Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education led Youth Guarantee for all young people in England aged 18-21.

Our approach to the Youth Guarantee is to help all young people aged 18-21 in England to earn or learn. We will work in partnership with organisations at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include apprenticeships, work experience, training courses or employability programmes.

Work is underway on the design and delivery of the new Youth Guarantee. Starting in spring 2025, eight Mayoral Authorities in England will pilot the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. These 12-month Trailblazers are an opportunity to develop the Youth Guarantee and test different interventions ahead of a national roll out. We will assess and incorporate our findings for future delivery and rollout of the Youth Guarantee across the rest of England, working with Mayoral Authorities and Local Authorities in our roll out plans.

On 28 November 2024, my Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced plans for England’s first Men’s Health Strategy at the Men’s Health Summit, held in partnership with Movember and hosted by Arsenal and the Premier League.

We will shortly be launching a call for evidence to seek views on what is currently working and what more needs to be done to support the health of all men. Through the strategy, we will explore all avenues to improve men’s health, including on leadership.

The Government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes. TIINs give a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts including on the Exchequer, individuals and families, businesses including civil society organisations and others. The TIIN for the employer NICs changes was published on 13 November 2024.

The Government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes. TIINs give a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts including on the Exchequer, individuals and families, businesses including civil society organisations and others. The TIIN for the employer NICs changes was published on 13 November 2024.

The Government is partnering with business to maximise women’s contribution to the economy. In line with the ambition of the Invest in Women Taskforce to expand access to funding for female entrepreneurs, the British Business Bank is investing £50 million in women-led funds. HMT’s Women in Finance Charter is supporting financial services firms to make the most of their female talent.

The Government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes. TIINs give a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts including on the Exchequer, individuals and families, businesses including civil society organisations and others. The TIIN for the employer NICs changes was published on 13 November 2024.

The Government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes. TIINs give a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts including on the Exchequer, individuals and families, businesses including civil society organisations and others. The TIIN for the employer NICs changes was published on 13 November 2024.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance Contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate of 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the impact of all budget measures are taken into consideration, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.

Employers have a choice about how they respond to the NICs increase. The Government recognises that employers may respond by increasing employees’ wages more slowly than they would have otherwise, alongside absorbing pressures through prices, efficiencies or lower profits.

Employers will also continue to benefit from employer NICs reliefs including for hiring under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

This Government recognises the devastating impact of sexual violence and that’s why tackling rape and sexual offences is a key part of our mission to halve Violence Against Women and Girls.

It is essential for police forces to have the right specialist capability to support victims and bring perpetrators to justice. This is why we are working closely with policing to ensure every force has a specialist rape and sexual offences team.

Further details will be announced in due course.

From early this year, under a new approach named ‘Raneem’s Law’, domestic abuse specialists will begin to be embedded in 999 control rooms to advise on risk assessments, work with officers on the ground and ensure that victims are referred to appropriate support services swiftly. Exact timings will be confirmed in due course.

The Home Office announced the 2025-2026 police funding settlement before Christmas. It provides funding of up to £19.5 billion for the policing system in England and Wales, an overall increase of up to £1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement, and equating to a 5.5% cash increase, and 3% real terms increase in funding. Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.4 billion, an increase of up to £987 million compared to the 2024-25 settlement. Decisions on how funding is used is an operational matter for Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners.

We are also working closely with the policing sector to deliver improvements in the police response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), including by embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms.

This government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.

We took immediate action to resolve that chaos by restarting asylum processing, establishing the new Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs, cracking down on illegal working across the country, and increasing the return and removal of people with no right to be here.

Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Home Office has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. But this is not a permanent solution, and the small increase in the number in use at the end of last year was just a temporary but necessary step to manage pressures in the system, which is now in the process of being reversed.

It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs. In the interim, we are also continuing to increase our operational activity against smuggling gangs and illegal working, and we have increased returns to their highest level since 2018, with 16,400 people removed in the first six months this government was in charge.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

We remain committed to delivering our manifesto commitment to introduce free independent legal advisors for victims and survivors of adult rape.

The Government plans to launch a single national service which will serve all police force areas. Once the service is rolled out in full, every victim of adult rape will have the opportunity to access a legal advisor no matter where they live.

We plan to introduce the service later this year, with a phased rollout. A phased rollout will enable us to better understand the costs, demand, benefits for victims, and wider impacts on the justice system. We are currently in the process of designing how this phased rollout will take place.

We know that, due to the complexity of the cases, victims of rape can wait longer than victims of other offence types for their case to complete in court. We remain committed to delivering our manifesto pledge to fast-track rape cases.

The fast-tracking of rape cases has dependencies with, and impacts on, the rest of the criminal justice system, including the wider Crown Court caseload and the capacity of the rape and serious sexual offences specialist legal workforce. We are carefully considering how best to deliver this. We plan to work closely with the judiciary and will be able to say more in due course.

We are also considering what changes could make victims feel better supported at court. Over 400 professionals, including court staff, CPS and the police, have already received trauma-informed training at Snaresbrook, Leeds and Newcastle Crown Courts. In some courts, witness waiting rooms and in-court technology have also been upgraded.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for this Government. This Government has made a clear commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

Our manifesto committed to a review of sentencing to ensure the framework is up to date. In October 2024, the Government launched an independent Sentencing Review, chaired by David Gauke.

The Sentencing Review will be guided by three principles. Firstly, sentences must punish offenders and protect the public – there must always be space in prison for the most dangerous offenders.

Secondly, sentences must encourage offenders to turn their backs on a life of crime, cutting crime by reducing reoffending. Thirdly, we must expand and make greater use of punishment outside of prison.

The Review has a broad remit. It will be up to the chair to decide on the areas of focus, but we have asked the Review to specifically look at the sentencing of offences primarily committed against women and girls.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for this Government. This Government has made a clear commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

Our manifesto committed to a review of sentencing to ensure the framework is up to date. In October 2024, the Government launched an independent Sentencing Review, chaired by David Gauke.

The Sentencing Review will be guided by three principles. Firstly, sentences must punish offenders and protect the public – there must always be space in prison for the most dangerous offenders.

Secondly, sentences must encourage offenders to turn their backs on a life of crime, cutting crime by reducing reoffending. Thirdly, we must expand and make greater use of punishment outside of prison.

The Review has a broad remit. It will be up to the chair to decide on the areas of focus, but we have asked the Review to specifically look at the sentencing of offences primarily committed against women and girls.

This Government has made a clear commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. We will use every tool within our power to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence. We will also work with key partners and organisations that support victims of these crimes.

Sentencing guidelines are developed and reviewed by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so. The guidelines produced provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. As an independent body, the Council decides its own work plan and priorities.

The Government has launched an independent Sentencing Review, chaired by David Gauke. The review has been asked to specifically examine the sentencing of offences primarily committed against women and girls.