Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the scale of commercial sexual exploitation in Reigate.

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

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of the levers available to us to deliver this.

The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators.

We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Reigate. However, from January to June 2024, 9 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Surrey.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to prevent children being exposed to pornography in Reigate constituency.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to keeping children safe online. Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that children benefit from its wide-reaching protections.

The Act requires that all in scope services that allow pornography use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing it, including services that host user-generated content, and services which publish pornography. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers available against companies who fail to fulfil their duties.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an estimate of the proportion of Community Infrastructure Levy spent on each category of infrastructure listed in subsection 2 of s216 of the Planning Act 2008 for (a) Reigate & Banstead, (b) Surrey and (c) England in each year since 2020.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local planning authorities are required to publish an Infrastructure Funding Statement annually. These should include information on the items of infrastructure on which the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) has been spent, and the amount of CIL spent on these items.

You can find the Infrastructure Funding Statements for Reigate and Banstead here. Surrey County Council have published details of their developer contributions here. There is no statutory requirement for a consolidated Infrastructure Funding Statement for England to be published, and one has not been published to date.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support pubs in Reigate constituency.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Pubs, including those in Reigate, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.

The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.

We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in Pubs.

Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

Housing

Found: Stringer Bob Blackman David Mundell John McDonnell Alicia Kearns Dr Ben Spencer Sir Ashley Fox Rebecca

Found: Stringer Bob Blackman David Mundell John McDonnell Alicia Kearns Dr Ben Spencer Sir Ashley Fox Rebecca

Found: Stringer Bob Blackman David Mundell John McDonnell Alicia Kearns Dr Ben Spencer Sir Ashley Fox Rebecca