Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 29896 on Sexual Offences: Crown Court, what plans her Department has to evaluate the pilot scheme for victims of rape and sexual offences.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since May 2024, the Ministry of Justice has been running a one-year pilot to enable victims of rape and sexual offences, whose cases were heard at the Crown Court, to request a copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks free of charge.
An assessment of the pilot is underway, and the results will be published after the pilot has ended in May 2025. This will explore application volumes, costs of provision, and any feedback from the courts on the process. It will also include applicant survey feedback, shared by victims or by those applying on their behalf.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent microplastics entering nature from washing machines.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is concerned about the possible risks to public health and wildlife from microplastics which enter the environment from the atmosphere and road runoff and from washing machines.
Previous collaborative work with the water industry found that microplastic from clothing and textiles make up a small proportion (around 1%) of the total microplastics found within wastewater treatment works.
We are continuing to investigate microplastics and the risks they may have to public health and to the environment. Defra is working with water companies to investigate microplastics detected during wastewater treatment and their potential to enter the receiving aquatic environment.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to return HPV vaccination rates to pre-2020 levels.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with several organisations to develop resources to raise awareness of the human papilloma virus (HPV). The UKHSA also publishes annual statistics, which are available at the following link:
These publications support local National Health Service teams in developing plans to improve uptake and reduce inequalities for the HPV universal programme. The UKHSA produces several HPV resources, which are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hpv-vaccination-programme
The NHS Commissioned School Aged Immunisation Service providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the adolescent HPV vaccination programme. To support increased access and uptake of the HPV vaccination to school aged children, NHS England continues to work with all key stakeholders at a regional level to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models to approach the robust delivery of school aged vaccinations. Further information on the NHS’ ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/nhs-sets-ambition-to-eliminate-cervical-cancer-by-2040/
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to (a) return cervical cancer screening rates to pre-2020 levels and (b) meet cervical cancer screening targets.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To support improving the access and uptake of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, the National Health Service has a series of initiatives underway, including:
- developing a digital-first approach to cervical screening invitations and reminders, including using the Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS) to create opportunities to communicate with the population differently;
- introducing a revised invitation correspondence, and subsequent reminder letter, in 2025/26, that is sent to 24.5 year olds to specifically highlight the need to attend a cervical screening even if they have had the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination, and to raise awareness of the HPV vaccine catch-up offer for those up to 25 years old;
- using CSMS to enable an opt-in process for transgender and non-binary peoples’ screening invitations to ensure that no-one eligible misses out on the opportunity to be invited and participate;
- expanding the range of accessible public information materials across all screening programmes, and continuing to highlight the importance of screening within our regular equalities-focused communications and engagement;
- developing an agile cervical screening workforce that can respond to fluctuations in demand through workforce planning, accounting for potential future changes to screening offers, which is being directed by the UK National Screening Committee;
- identifying low-cost/no-cost opportunities to communicate the NHS’s aim to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, highlighting the value of cervical screening and the HPV vaccination as fundamental to achieving this goal.
The UK National Screening Committee is also considering the benefits of introducing self-sampling for cervical screening non-attenders.