Sarah Pochin

Victim and witness confidence is vital to tackling FGM. While the CPS does not comment on individual publications, prosecutors work closely with police and partners under established FGM joint protocols to provide early advice, safeguarding and sensitive handling of evidence. We recognise that victims rarely use the term “mutilation” themselves; language is often drawn out through expert evidence.

The CPS understands that in some communities FGM is practised with mistaken belief that is will benefit the girl in some way, but this does not detract from the fact that it causes long term harm and trauma to victims and remains a serious criminal offence. The CPS continues to maintain dedicated prosecution guidance and training to ensure cases are built robustly where the legal test is met.

Whilst securing prosecutions is important, protective measures are central to safeguarding victims. Protective measures, such as Forced Marriage Protection Orders, FGM Protection Orders are designed for of these crimes and safeguard them from on-going risk.

FGM is clearly defined in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 and CPS prosecutors apply that statutory framework alongside the Code for Crown Prosecutors. CPS’s prosecution guidance for FGM recognises that expert medical evidence may assist a jury on technical matters; however, alternative terminology used in academic or professional contexts does not alter the offence definitions or the legal tests. Prosecutors assess any expert evidence for relevance, admissibility and weight, and will ensure the statutory terminology is used in court.

The CPS role is to make sure the right person is prosecuted for the right offence. Prosecutors apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors when making charging decisions in all cases, including FGM. The evidential threshold, whether the evidence provides a realistic prospect of conviction, requires prosecutors to consider the reliability and credibility of the evidence. Where relevant to a particular case, prosecutors may consider admissible expert medical evidence. However, academic commentary does not change the legal tests or the CPS decision making framework.

Under existing UK regulations, businesses must only place safe products, including batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters, on the market. In 2024, the Department published statutory guidelines for lithium-ion e-bike batteries, clarifying that they must protect against the risk of thermal runaway to be considered safe products. Regulators have powers to enforce these regulations. The Government has now introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, which will enable us to modernise and improve our product safety framework for products sold online and on the high street.

E-bikes must meet legal speed and power limits to be used on the road.

This government is taking the strongest action to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. This includes setting up a new national inquiry, with which government departments will cooperate fully, to ensure we are tackling this vile crime and supporting victims and survivors.

Working Together is the national multi-agency statutory guidance for all practitioners working with children and their families. Local safeguarding partners (local authorities, police and health) already have a statutory duty to set out in their threshold document and local protocols the process for referrals, assessments, support and services for children who need help or protection. This guidance underpins Ofsted’s Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services framework.

We are also delivering the biggest reform to children’s social care in a generation, investing £2.4 billion in the Families First Partnership programme, introducing multi-agency child protection teams through our landmark Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill and establishing a national Child Protection Authority.

Under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996, local authorities must arrange suitable education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive it. This education should be full-time, or as close to full-time as is appropriate for the child’s needs.

Ofsted monitors local authorities’ arrangements for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision through Area special educational needs and disabilities inspections.

The department also issues statutory guidance on planning and commissioning alternative provision, which sets out principles for timely, safe, and high quality education. The guidance was last updated in January 2025 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.

The government is committed to an inclusive education system that identifies additional needs early and delivers the right support at the right time, helping children remain in and succeed within mainstream education wherever possible.

Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, we confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.

This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also provides work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.

The department will be releasing further details about the HAF programme by the end of the year, including updated local authority guidance.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. That’s why the department recently confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. Delivering best value for money through our programmes is a priority for this government and our HAF guidance sets this out for local authorities.

The department expects all providers who are funded through the HAF programme to meet our framework of standards, and we expect that assurance visits are focused on ensuring this is the case.

Local authorities are responsible for gathering information about the children and families they are supporting. Following each holiday, the department asks local authorities to report on their activity.

The department requires a certificate of expenditure from each local authority which must be signed by the chief financial officer or chief internal auditor. These support the regularity assurance statement for the National Audit Office.

Parliamentary Questions and their answers are publicly available on the parliament website.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to enabling local highway authorities to maintain and renew their local highway networks effectively.

For this financial year, the Department has already announced a funding uplift of £500 million compared to the last financial year for local authorities to spend on highway maintenance. 25% of this funding uplift is subject to local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice, for example in relation to the adoption of innovative technologies to repair potholes and undertaking preventative maintenance to prevent potholes from forming in the first place.

The Department also encourages and supports innovation through its update to the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure, which will include guidance on matters such as innovative surface treatments.

The is also supporting the £30 million Live Labs 2 innovation programme which is supporting the local highway sector to demonstrate innovative low-carbon ways of maintaining local highways. It includes projects that are testing and evaluating novel surfacing materials for the benefit of the whole highways sector.

The Department regularly engages with local highway authorities and their representative bodies, such as the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) and the Local Government Association (LGA) on matters relating to highway maintenance.

The Secretary of State for Transport has not had direct discussions with Halton Borough Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn, or with Cheshire West and Chester Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.

In March, the Prime Minister announced that in order to receive their full share of this year's £500m uplift in highways maintenance funding, local highway authorities have to publish a report on their maintenance plans and demonstrate how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance. Both councils have published these reports, which can be found on their websites.

The Department regularly engages with local highway authorities and their representative bodies, such as the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) and the Local Government Association (LGA) on matters relating to highway maintenance.

The Secretary of State for Transport has not had direct discussions with Halton Borough Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn, or with Cheshire West and Chester Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.

In March, the Prime Minister announced that in order to receive their full share of this year's £500m uplift in highways maintenance funding, local highway authorities have to publish a report on their maintenance plans and demonstrate how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance. Both councils have published these reports, which can be found on their websites.

The Motability Scheme receives no direct funding from DWP. However, it does receive the direct transfer of benefit from DWP. This is claimant benefit the claimant would otherwise be receiving, and the cost of transfer is paid for by the Motability Foundation.

The total paid to the Motability Scheme from the customers’ benefit in each financial year is as follows (inclusive of amounts for Northern Ireland Executive and Scottish Government benefits):

Please note our financial systems only hold full year data for financial years 22/3 – 24/25.

The Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission to help disabled people with their mobility and transport needs. They own and have oversight of the Motability Scheme which is delivered by an independent commercial company Motability Operations. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the main benefits that provide a gateway to the Scheme. Data about the brands or values of vehicles leased under the Scheme is held by Motability Operations.

Vehicles leased to eligible disabled people as part of the Motability Scheme are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, including the expensive car supplement, if applicable.

We are protecting the taxpayer through changes to the Motability scheme, ensuring it supports disabled people whilst delivering efficient use of taxpayers’ money. This includes the removal of some luxury vehicles from the leasing scheme while maintaining a range of vehicles to support disabled people.

The Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission to help disabled people with their mobility and transport needs. They own and have oversight of the Motability Scheme which is delivered by an independent commercial company Motability Operations. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the main benefits that provide a gateway to the Scheme. Data about the brands or values of vehicles leased under the Scheme is held by Motability Operations.

Vehicles leased to eligible disabled people as part of the Motability Scheme are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, including the expensive car supplement, if applicable.

We are protecting the taxpayer through changes to the Motability scheme, ensuring it supports disabled people whilst delivering efficient use of taxpayers’ money. This includes the removal of some luxury vehicles from the leasing scheme while maintaining a range of vehicles to support disabled people.

The Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission to help disabled people with their mobility and transport needs. They own and have oversight of the Motability Scheme which is delivered by an independent commercial company Motability Operations. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the main benefits that provide a gateway to the Scheme. Data about the brands or values of vehicles leased under the Scheme is held by Motability Operations.

Vehicles leased to eligible disabled people as part of the Motability Scheme are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, including the expensive car supplement, if applicable.

We are protecting the taxpayer through changes to the Motability scheme, ensuring it supports disabled people whilst delivering efficient use of taxpayers’ money. This includes the removal of some luxury vehicles from the leasing scheme while maintaining a range of vehicles to support disabled people.

For referral to treatment (RTT) pathways that start within an interface service, which is any form of intermediary clinical triage, assessment, and/or treatment between primary and secondary care, a patient's clock start will begin at the point the general practice referral is made and not the date that the referral is received by the secondary care provider. Further information can be found in the RTT consultant-led waiting times: rules suite guidance document, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-start-consultant-led-treatment-within-18-weeks/referral-to-treatment-consultant-led-waiting-times-rules-suite-october-2022

The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led RTT waiting time data, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is where a general practitioner requests advice from a specialist digitally, prior to or instead of a referral, and it has helped divert over 655,000 referrals between April and August 2025. The NHS Electronic Referral System, the platform used for most A&Gs, can allow the specialist to "convert" a request into a referral. An RTT waiting time clock would not commence unless the request is converted to a referral. Where a referral to the waiting list is not required, we expect patients to receive care sooner, in a more convenient setting, having benefitted from specialist advice to inform their care management plan.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, outlines plans to move toward delivering care through a ‘Single Point of Access’. This describes a model where all appropriate referrals and requests, other than those for urgent suspected cancer, are directed through a single ‘front door’ to support triage to the most appropriate next step or outcome for the patient. This will help ensure a more consistent approach to triage which provides quicker access to patients.

There are no plans for an independent audit of pre-listing referral management processes and reporting of delays across National Health Service trusts.

For referral to treatment (RTT) pathways that start within an interface service, which is any form of intermediary clinical triage, assessment, and/or treatment between primary and secondary care, a patient's clock start will begin at the point the general practice referral is made and not the date that the referral is received by the secondary care provider. Further information can be found in the RTT consultant-led waiting times: rules suite guidance document, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-start-consultant-led-treatment-within-18-weeks/referral-to-treatment-consultant-led-waiting-times-rules-suite-october-2022

The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led RTT waiting time data, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is where a general practitioner requests advice from a specialist digitally, prior to or instead of a referral, and it has helped divert over 655,000 referrals between April and August 2025. The NHS Electronic Referral System, the platform used for most A&Gs, can allow the specialist to "convert" a request into a referral. An RTT waiting time clock would not commence unless the request is converted to a referral. Where a referral to the waiting list is not required, we expect patients to receive care sooner, in a more convenient setting, having benefitted from specialist advice to inform their care management plan.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, outlines plans to move toward delivering care through a ‘Single Point of Access’. This describes a model where all appropriate referrals and requests, other than those for urgent suspected cancer, are directed through a single ‘front door’ to support triage to the most appropriate next step or outcome for the patient. This will help ensure a more consistent approach to triage which provides quicker access to patients.

There are no plans for an independent audit of pre-listing referral management processes and reporting of delays across National Health Service trusts.

For referral to treatment (RTT) pathways that start within an interface service, which is any form of intermediary clinical triage, assessment, and/or treatment between primary and secondary care, a patient's clock start will begin at the point the general practice referral is made and not the date that the referral is received by the secondary care provider. Further information can be found in the RTT consultant-led waiting times: rules suite guidance document, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-start-consultant-led-treatment-within-18-weeks/referral-to-treatment-consultant-led-waiting-times-rules-suite-october-2022

The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led RTT waiting time data, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is where a general practitioner requests advice from a specialist digitally, prior to or instead of a referral, and it has helped divert over 655,000 referrals between April and August 2025. The NHS Electronic Referral System, the platform used for most A&Gs, can allow the specialist to "convert" a request into a referral. An RTT waiting time clock would not commence unless the request is converted to a referral. Where a referral to the waiting list is not required, we expect patients to receive care sooner, in a more convenient setting, having benefitted from specialist advice to inform their care management plan.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, outlines plans to move toward delivering care through a ‘Single Point of Access’. This describes a model where all appropriate referrals and requests, other than those for urgent suspected cancer, are directed through a single ‘front door’ to support triage to the most appropriate next step or outcome for the patient. This will help ensure a more consistent approach to triage which provides quicker access to patients.

There are no plans for an independent audit of pre-listing referral management processes and reporting of delays across National Health Service trusts.

The Department does not hold the data in this format.

In line with referral to treatment rules, a patient's waiting time clock starts from the moment they are referred for consultant-led elective treatment. According to these rules, there should be no time between a general practice referral and entry onto a consultant-led elective waiting list. The complete time elapsed between referral and treatment will be recorded on the published consultant led referral to treatment waiting time data, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/

Guidance is provided to NHS England and integrated care boards through the Referral to treatment consultant-led waiting times: rules suite, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-start-consultant-led-treatment-within-18-weeks/referral-to-treatment-consultant-led-waiting-times-rules-suite-october-2022

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 16 December to question 97767.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 16 December to question 97767.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 16 December to question 97767.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 16 December to question 97767.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.

No additional central funding has been given to Departments for the 2025/26 pay awards beyond their existing funding allocations, and this will be the case for the remainder of the Spending Review period. This means we will not be borrowing more or raising taxes to fund higher pay awards, nor will there be an impact on the fiscal rules.