Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 56664 on Prisoners' Transfers: Transgender People, whether E Wing at HMP Downview is considered to be in the women's or men's prison estate.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The general female estate comprises the establishments in which female prisoners are accommodated. E Wing at HMP/YOI Downview is a special unit: it is not part of the general women's estate. Prisoners on E Wing are located separately from all other prisoners at HMP/YOI Downview. They may receive supervised access to activities in the main prison’s regime, such as visits, education, work and faith services. Such access is provided only where a local risk assessment has determined this to be appropriate.

As of 1 July, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing.

We are reviewing all relevant policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling and will set out any changes to our approach in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 56664 on Prisoners' Transfers: Transgender People, what is the definition of general female estate.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The general female estate comprises the establishments in which female prisoners are accommodated. E Wing at HMP/YOI Downview is a special unit: it is not part of the general women's estate. Prisoners on E Wing are located separately from all other prisoners at HMP/YOI Downview. They may receive supervised access to activities in the main prison’s regime, such as visits, education, work and faith services. Such access is provided only where a local risk assessment has determined this to be appropriate.

As of 1 July, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing.

We are reviewing all relevant policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling and will set out any changes to our approach in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) facilities and (b) services the biological males held in HMP Downview share with women prisoners simultaneously.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The general female estate comprises the establishments in which female prisoners are accommodated. E Wing at HMP/YOI Downview is a special unit: it is not part of the general women's estate. Prisoners on E Wing are located separately from all other prisoners at HMP/YOI Downview. They may receive supervised access to activities in the main prison’s regime, such as visits, education, work and faith services. Such access is provided only where a local risk assessment has determined this to be appropriate.

As of 1 July, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing.

We are reviewing all relevant policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling and will set out any changes to our approach in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many biological males were held in HMP Downview on 1 June 2025.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The general female estate comprises the establishments in which female prisoners are accommodated. E Wing at HMP/YOI Downview is a special unit: it is not part of the general women's estate. Prisoners on E Wing are located separately from all other prisoners at HMP/YOI Downview. They may receive supervised access to activities in the main prison’s regime, such as visits, education, work and faith services. Such access is provided only where a local risk assessment has determined this to be appropriate.

As of 1 July, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing.

We are reviewing all relevant policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling and will set out any changes to our approach in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the requirement for applicants to demonstrate three years of continuous residence in the UK to be considered for civil service roles on the ability of British nationals who have spent periods residing abroad to join the civil service.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

To join the Civil Service, individuals must pass pre-employment checks contained within the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). As part of the Right to Work check conducted within the BPSS, organisations need to assure themselves through obtaining documentation if individuals have resided overseas for six months or more within the last three years.

For Civil Service roles that require National Security Vetting (NSV), in order for meaningful NSV checks to be carried out, individuals will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. This period varies depending on the level of clearance required, to enable appropriate checks to provide the required level of assurance. For the Counter Terrorism Check (CTC), the recommended UK residency is three years preceding the NSV application.

These NSV policies are long standing and are kept under regular review.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on staff by prisoners have taken place at (a) HMP Downview and (b) HMP High Down in Banstead in the last 12 months.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The latest data on assaults on staff, broken down by prison, covers the year up to December 2024. It is published in table 8e of the Safety in Custody summary tables to December 2024, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2024.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many biological males are held in HMP Downview.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

As of 1 July, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing, the separate unit for transgender women at HMP/YOI Downview. There were no transgender women being held in other parts of the prison.

We are reviewing allocation policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling and will set out any changes in our approach in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has reviewed the validity of its insurance policies for HMP Downview, in the context of the imprisonment of biological males at that prison.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

In line with HM Treasury’s guidance Managing Public Money, HMPPS does not buy general commercial insurance to protect against risk.

In line with HM Treasury guidance, HMP/YOI Downview has not taken out commercial insurance on the basis that it is better value for money for the taxpayer to cover its own risks.

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 newly qualified nurses are not prevented from accessing band 5 roles within the NHS due to (a) experience requirements and (b) such roles only being advertised internally.

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

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.

NHS England is working with employers, universities, and regional nursing leads to ensure support is in place to help graduating nurses find a role as soon as possible after qualification, aiding their transition into the workplace.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of calculating student loan repayments on an annual basis to prevent overpayments.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Student loan repayments for borrowers resident in the UK are collected by HMRC through the UK tax system, which is an efficient approach that minimises the burden on borrowers. Employers deduct repayments each pay period for employees with a student loan when their earnings are above the relevant student loan repayment threshold for that pay period.

At the end of the tax year, a borrower with total earnings below the annual student loan repayment threshold may reclaim any repayments made where a pay period threshold was exceeded. A borrower will be able to apply for a refund of these repayments at the end of the tax year: https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/getting-a-refund. This offers additional protection to the lowest earning borrowers. Alternatively, they may decide not to apply for a refund, which will allow them to repay their loan more quickly.

For those borrowers who are close to fully repaying their student loan, the Student Loans Company provides borrowers with the option to switch to repayments via direct debit, which prevents over-repayments entirely.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance and (b) training is provided to (i) teachers and (ii) school staff to help ensure they are (A) confident and (B) equipped to (1) educate pupils about online grooming and (2) respond appropriately to disclosures.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

As part of statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools, pupils are taught about online safety and harms. The statutory guidance emphasises that schools should be alive to issues such as grooming and sexual exploitation, including coercive and controlling behaviour, and that these should be addressed sensitively and clearly. The statutory guidance for primary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary.

The statutory guidance for secondary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary.

The RSHE statutory guidance is currently under review. The department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.

In 2023, the department published guidance on teaching online safety in schools, which sets out how to teach about all aspects of internet safety. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.

Schools and colleges must also have regard to the department’s robust safeguarding framework ‘Keeping children safe in education’. The guidance makes clear that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection updates as required, and at least annually, to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve online safety education in schools to help children (a) recognise and (b) respond to online grooming.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

As part of statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools, pupils are taught about online safety and harms. The statutory guidance emphasises that schools should be alive to issues such as grooming and sexual exploitation, including coercive and controlling behaviour, and that these should be addressed sensitively and clearly. The statutory guidance for primary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary.

The statutory guidance for secondary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary.

The RSHE statutory guidance is currently under review. The department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.

In 2023, the department published guidance on teaching online safety in schools, which sets out how to teach about all aspects of internet safety. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.

Schools and colleges must also have regard to the department’s robust safeguarding framework ‘Keeping children safe in education’. The guidance makes clear that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection updates as required, and at least annually, to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62457 on HMP/YOI Downview, how many of the seven males held on E Wing have access to the general women's estate for (a) work and (b) other services.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

As noted in the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62457, prisoners on E Wing are located separately from all other prisoners at HMP/YOI Downview. Supervised access to activities in the main prison’s regime, including work, is provided only where a local risk assessment has determined this to be appropriate.

Given the small number of prisoners held on E-Wing, it would not be appropriate to provide information about the management of the individuals in question.

We are reviewing the transgender prisoner policy in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling and will set out any changes to our approach in due course.

Found: Brewer David Burton-Sampson Rosie Duffield Kirith Entwistle Natalie Fleet Christine Jardine Rebecca Paul

Found: Burton-Sampson; Kirith Entwistle; Natalie Fleet; Catherine Fookes; Christine Jardine; Samantha Niblett; Rebecca Paul

Found: Burton-Sampson; Rosie Duffield; Kirith Entwistle; Natalie Fleet; Catherine Fookes; Christine Jardine; Rebecca Paul

Found: Rebecca Paul declared the following interest: serving Surrey county councillor.

Found: Strathallan) James Murray (Labour; Ealing North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Rebecca Paul

Found: Owen; Alex Brewer; David Burton-Sampson; Rosie Duffield; Kirith Entwistle; Catherine Fookes; Rebecca Paul

Found: Additionally, several MPs including Dr Caroline Johnson, shadow minister for health and social care, and Rebecca Paul

Found: Nick Timothy, Mr Gagan Mohindra, Dr Ben Spencer, Sarah Bool, Alison Griffiths, Jack Rankin, Rebecca Paul

Found: These suggestions included: • Rebecca Paul MP (Con) called for the “outlawing the advertising of individuals

Found: Timothy supported by John Cooper, Dr Luke Evans, Mr Richard Holden, Robert Jenrick, Rupert Lowe, Rebecca Paul

Found: Not called_NC103 Jess Asato Katrina Murray Rebecca Paul Mrs Sharon Hodgson Tracy Gilbert Joani Reid

Submit Evidence (by 30 Sep 2025)

The Committee is following up its previous work on women’s reproductive health, with a focus on better meeting the needs of girls and young women. It is assessing progress in diagnoses, treatments and pain management of conditions including endometriosis, adenomyosis and heavy menstrual bleeding.