Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6246 on Animal Experiments, what harms were experienced by dogs used in research on muscular dystrophy; and how much funding is being provided for human-specific research into that condition.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office assigns severity classification to protocols in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (as amended) which is published at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/14/contents.
The classification takes account of the highest severity likely to be experienced by any animal used in the protocol and takes account of the pain, suffering, distress and lasting harm that an animal is likely to experience, after applying all the appropriate refinement techniques. Of the 21 dogs used for creation and breeding in research on muscular dystrophy, 15 were subject to ‘Mild’ severity and 6 ‘Moderate’ severity.
The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal, animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.
The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is leading on plans to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to help victims of sexual exploitation exit prostitution in Rotherham.
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 the levers available to us to deliver this ambition.
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators.
This Government will also work closely with the voluntary and community sector to help sexually exploited people and ensure that those who want to exit prostitution are able to. 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 Rotherham. However, between January and June 2024, there were 25 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in South Yorkshire.
To help support people at risk of being sexually exploited, Changing Lives has received £1.36m from the Home Office over three years (2022-2025) for their Net-Reach project, which provides online outreach, early intervention and intensive support for women and girls at high-risk of exploitation and abuse. The Net-Reach project operates in several locations in England, including South Yorkshire.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales, including a support worker to help them access wider services, such as medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain in 2023, published by her Department on 11 September 2024, what the aims were for the 63 experimental procedures that used cats; what harms were experienced by the cats; and if she will take steps to end the use of cats in experimental procedures.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publish non-technical summaries of all programmes of work concluded under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#non-technical-summaries. For programmes involving experimental procedures that use cats, these include immune system research, multisystemic research, urogenital/reproductive system research and research to develop a treatment for improving the length and quality of life for patients with muscular dystrophy utilises a dog model which has a harmful phenotype. The published Annual Statistics detail the actual severity experienced by animals.
This Government intends to work towards an end to the use of animals in scientific procedures. However, in limited circumstances where there is no animal alternative and procedures are required to deliver important benefits to people, the environment, and other animals then we deliver robust, rigorous and trustworthy regulation of those procedures
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain in 2023, published by her Department on 11 September 2024, what the project aims were for the 21 procedures for the creation and breeding of genetically altered animals; what the nature of the harmful phenotype was; and if she will take steps to end the use of procedures that involve the genetic alteration of dogs.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Research to develop a treatment for improving the length and quality of life for patients with muscular dystrophy utilises a dog model which has a harmful phenotype.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the findings of the Decapods: Call for Evidence, published on 5 July 2023; and what recent estimate she has made of when the Animals in Science Committee will report on options for the future regulation of the use of decapod crustaceans in research.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following earlier research and reports on this issue, the next step is for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to decide whether to regulate Decapods under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Any decision of publication of earlier research or the commissioning of further advice will follow in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to make wildlife crimes notifiable; and whether she plans to include those crimes in national statistics.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit to help tackle these crimes.
There are no plans currently to make all wildlife crimes notifiable. Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to police can be investigated as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals were arrested in connection with suspected (a) live streamed online child sexual abuse and (b) exploitative behaviour in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021, (iii) 2022 and (iv) 2023; and if he will list the nationalities of suspected overseas victims.
Answered by Laura Farris
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data up to the year ending March 2023 is available on gov.uk. There is no specific offence of livestreamed child sexual abuse or exploitative behaviour. Arrest data is collected by broader offence group e.g. “sexual offences”.
The Home Office does not hold information relating to the nationality of victims of crime.
However, the Government provides dedicated funding to the National Crime Agency and a network of Undercover Online Officers in Regional Organised Crime Units to tackle the highest harm child sexual abuse offenders, including those engaged in the livestreaming of child sexual abuse. Our understanding of the nature and scale of livestreamed child sexual abuse is informed by threat assessments produced by the National Assessment Centre and other organisations.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5408, if he will publish his Department's communications with the Hong Kong authorities on facilitating early drawdown of pension funds.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK firmly opposes the discrimination that British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders are facing in applying for early withdrawal of their pension funds held by the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) in Hong Kong.
All representations to the Hong Kong authorities have been made via the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office or the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 5 December 2023 to Question 3839 on Dangerous Dogs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on resourcing for the implementation of the ban on American Bully XL type dogs.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
My Department continues to work closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure the successful implementation of the ban on XL Bully type dogs.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his proposal to increase the income thresholds for spousal visas would apply to renewals of existing visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The revised minimum income requirement will be implemented in spring 2024.
The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with the increase in the minimum income requirement in due course.
Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.