First elected: 5th May 2005
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Sharon Hodgson, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Sharon Hodgson has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Sharon Hodgson has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to regulate the selling of tickets for certain sporting and cultural events; and for connected purposes.
Theft of Tools of Trade (Sentencing) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Amanda Martin (Lab)
Public Sector Websites (Data Charges) Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Simon Lightwood (LAB)
Brain Tumours Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Siobhain McDonagh (Lab)
Quad Bikes Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Judith Cummins (Lab)
Breast Screening Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Steve Brine (Con)
Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Act 2021
Sponsor - Mike Amesbury (Ind)
Goods and Services of UK Origin Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Gareth Thomas (LAB)
Smoking Prohibition (National Health Service Premises) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Tracy Brabin (LAB)
Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Diana Johnson (Lab)
The UK Government works closely and discusses a range of matters with colleagues in the Welsh Government. Consideration of the effectiveness of devolved legislation is a matter for the relevant devolved legislature and government. The Cabinet Office therefore has not carried out a specific assessment of the effectiveness of the Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015.
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.
Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. The Act requires services in scope to understand risks from illegal content online and take mitigating action.
Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Independent Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.
The Government is committed to setting a clear roadmap to a circular economy – a future where our resources are used as efficiently and productively as possible for as long as possible, and waste is reduced. Preventing food waste will be a key part of this work, and the Department is reviewing a range of issues associated with food waste in the supply chain, including mandatory food waste reporting requirements. These will be announced in due course.
The Government is committed to setting a clear roadmap to a circular economy – a future where our resources are used as efficiently and productively as possible for as long as possible, and waste is reduced. Preventing food waste will be a key part of this work, and the Department is reviewing a range of issues associated with food waste in the supply chain, including mandatory food waste reporting requirements. These will be announced in due course.
Food Security is national security which is relevant to all five Government Missions and central to our primary Mission to grow the economy. Boosting Britain’s food security is one of the core priorities of this Government.
We need a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British Farmers. The only way to do this effectively is to listen to farmers and others with a stake in our food system, countryside, and nature. We will consider relevant evidence and analysis, including that contained in Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy, as we develop our plans to support our farmers and food and drink businesses, boost food security, invest in rural communities, deliver growth, manage waste more effectively across the supply chain, improve resilience to climate change and tackle biodiversity loss.
No recent estimate has been made. Data is only available up to 2020 from the National Disease Registration Service. The data for the year 2020 highlights that 24.4% of bowel cancer patients were diagnosed through emergency presentation.
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including bowel cancer, as early and as quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes. The Department is committing to this by improving waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment, starting by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, to support faster diagnosis and access to treatment.
The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme currently invites people aged 56 to 74 years old for screening every two years. However, this age cohort is increasing to those aged 50 to 74 years old by 2025, which may reduce the number of late diagnoses.
Furthermore, NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptom and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. This campaign urged people to take up the offer of bowel screening when invited.
We welcome the House of Lords’ Preterm Birth Committee’s report focused on reducing risks and improving lives. We thank all the individuals and organisations that gave evidence to the Inquiry, and the committee members for their detailed examination of the issues and evidence in drawing their conclusions. We will respond to the report and the recommendations in the new year.
The National Maternity Safety Ambition will end in 2025. We are currently looking carefully at what comes beyond this ambition, to ensure that an evidence-based approach is taken, and that all targets are woman- and baby-centred.
The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme is central to the Government’s commitments to give every baby the best start in life, and to deliver the healthiest generation ever.
The Prime Minister’s Plan for Change outlined that we will give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. There will be investment to continue to build up the Family Hub and Start for Life programme. The Autumn Budget announcement has already confirmed £69 million to continue delivery of a network of Family Hubs in 2025/26.
We are aware that local authorities such as Sunderland are undertaking financial planning for 2025/26, and have communicated with those for whom programme funding information is critical for operational business purposes.
The Government recognises the significant impact of delays in post-mortems on bereaved families. Specialised perinatal pathology services provide medical investigations, including post-mortem examinations following the death of a foetus or baby. These services are delivered by 18 National Health Service hospital trusts in England.
Perinatal pathology services are currently experiencing significant staff shortages. There are 26.15 whole time equivalent consultant vacancies, which is a 46% vacancy rate across the service. The lack of consultant staff is impacting the service’s ability to produce post-mortem reports in line with national standards, as set out in NHS England’s service specification B, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e12-perinatal-path.pdf
In response to the impact that the staffing challenges are having have on the service, NHS England has established a Perinatal Pathology Transformation Programme which is implementing interventions to increase perinatal pathology service capacity over time and improve the post-mortem reporting time. The programme reports to a national Steering Group which has clinical, commissioning, and key stakeholder representation, including service users and patient and public voice representation, through the baby loss charity Sands. The Royal College of Pathologists is also included in the membership of the Steering Group.
Additionally, we welcome and are carefully considering the findings of the Justice Committee’s recent follow-up Inquiry into the Coroner Service, including on coronial pathology provision.
We are committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive. This includes children, teenagers and young adults (CTYA).
NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of CTYA cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/
Children’s cancer care is managed by principal treatment centres (PTCs) who ensure quality care. Each PTC has a multi-disciplinary team which meets at least weekly and includes a specific focus on the psychosocial needs of patient. The multi-disciplinary team ensures that each service user is assessed for psychological needs and can access any psychosocial support that is required.
The Department is also taking steps to improving waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment across all cancer patient groups in England. We will start by supporting the NHS to deliver an extra 40,000 scans, appointments and operations each week to ensure that patients are seen as quickly as possible.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has set out guidance for general practitioners on the symptoms of cancer in CTYA, recommending referral within 48 hours for those presenting with potential cancer symptoms. To support timely investigation after referral, we are working with the NHS to maximise the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, including via the roll out of community diagnostic centres.
The 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on the diagnosis and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), provides recommendations on principles of care for people with severe ME/CFS, including hospital care, and adapting a multidisciplinary approach with access to a range of health and social care professionals based on needs.
The NICE’s guidelines are not mandatory, but the Government does expect healthcare commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account in designing services to meet the needs of their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.
No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the safety of National Health Service care for patients with severe and very severe ME/CFS, but there are steps that the Government is taking to improve care for patients with ME/CFS, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.
The Department has funded the £3.2 million DecodeME study with the Medical Research Council to understand the causes and consequences of, and find treatments for, ME/CFS. This study aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition and, in doing so, increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
The public consultation on the interim delivery plan for ME/CFS was run in 2023. It has been a priority since July 2024 to publish the response to the 2023 consultation on the ME/CFS interim delivery plan. Departmental officials are in the process of finalising a report summarising the responses, for publication. The consultation responses, alongside continued stakeholder engagement, will inform the development of the final delivery plan, which we aim to publish in the winter of 2024/25. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.
The 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on the diagnosis and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), provides recommendations on principles of care for people with severe ME/CFS, including hospital care, and adapting a multidisciplinary approach with access to a range of health and social care professionals based on needs.
The NICE’s guidelines are not mandatory, but the Government does expect healthcare commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account in designing services to meet the needs of their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.
No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the safety of National Health Service care for patients with severe and very severe ME/CFS, but there are steps that the Government is taking to improve care for patients with ME/CFS, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.
The Department has funded the £3.2 million DecodeME study with the Medical Research Council to understand the causes and consequences of, and find treatments for, ME/CFS. This study aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition and, in doing so, increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
The public consultation on the interim delivery plan for ME/CFS was run in 2023. It has been a priority since July 2024 to publish the response to the 2023 consultation on the ME/CFS interim delivery plan. Departmental officials are in the process of finalising a report summarising the responses, for publication. The consultation responses, alongside continued stakeholder engagement, will inform the development of the final delivery plan, which we aim to publish in the winter of 2024/25. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is exploring opportunities with international research partners to foster research cooperation in areas of unmet need. For example, the Department of Health and Social Care has close links with the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Long COVID Research and Practice. The US’ Assistant Secretary for Health has discussed long COVID with the Chief Medical Officer, and the Department of Health and Social Care has also co-hosted a series of researcher exchanges between United Kingdom and US experts.
The NIHR and Medical Research Council are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, and are actively exploring next steps for research in these areas.
National Health Service audiology services, including the provision of therapies for people with hearing loss, are locally commissioned, and the responsibility for meeting the needs of people with hearing loss lies with local NHS commissioners.
In July 2016, NHS England published Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups, which supports integrated care boards in making informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve and to assist in providing more consistent, high quality, integrated care. NHS England also published specific guidance on newborn hearing screening in 2016, Newborn hearing screening programme (NHSP) operational guidance, which supports healthcare professionals and stakeholders delivering and managing newborn hearing screening programmes in England.
We also expect commissioners to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2018, the NICE issued the guidance, Hearing loss in adults: assessment and management, which aims to improve hearing loss services, including the provision of hearing aids.
Specialised ear surgery, such as cochlear implantation, is commissioned directly by NHS England as a specialised service. In NHS England’s specialised commissioning specification, Cochlear implantation services for adults and children, updated in May 2023, Auditory Verbal Therapists are recognised as part of multi-disciplinary teams able to provide rehabilitation services, alongside a range of other health professionals.
NHS Audiology services are locally commissioned and the responsibility for meeting the needs of children with hearing loss lies with local National Health Service commissioners. NHS England is supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care to children with hearing loss. In 2019 NHS England, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, produced a guide for commissioners and health and local authority providers which supports children and young people with hearing loss, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/what-works-chswg-guide.pdf
These specific assessments have not been made and there are currently no plans to assess the adequacy of provision of Auditory Verbal Therapy for deaf children. However, NHS England met with Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) last year and discussed the need for more higher-level research evidence for intervention and to develop evaluations of impact. AVUK was also invited to join the Chief Scientific Officer’s Audiology stakeholder group.
The Government will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we raise the healthiest generation of children ever. NHS England and the Department for Education are working in partnership to co-fund £10 million for nine Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinder sites over two years, to provide early identification and targeted and universal support for children with speech, language, and communication needs in both early years and primary school settings, and more timely referrals for specialist support if required.
These specific assessments have not been made. Audiology services are locally commissioned and the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing children lies with local National Health Service commissioners.
In July 2016, NHS England published Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups, which supports integrated care boards to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve and to provide more consistent, high quality, integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services. Additionally, in 2019, NHS England, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, produced a guide for commissioners and providers who support children and young people with hearing loss.
NHS England met with Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) last year and discussed the need for more higher-level research evidence for the intervention and to develop evaluations of impact. AVUK was also invited to join the Chief Scientific Officer’s audiology stakeholder group.
These specific assessments have not been made. Audiology services are locally commissioned and the responsibility for meeting the needs of non-hearing children lies with local National Health Service commissioners.
In July 2016, NHS England published Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups, which supports integrated care boards to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve and to provide more consistent, high quality, integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services. Additionally, in 2019, NHS England, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, produced a guide for commissioners and providers who support children and young people with hearing loss.
NHS England met with Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) last year and discussed the need for more higher-level research evidence for the intervention and to develop evaluations of impact. AVUK was also invited to join the Chief Scientific Officer’s audiology stakeholder group.
Increasing capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services is a priority for the Government. We are committed to providing the National Health Service with the latest technology, replacing outdated equipment to make diagnosis more accurate and timely, and improving experience for patients. Plans for future funding will be informed by NHS England's assessment of priorities, and will be set out at the earliest opportunity.
It is our priority to take the steps necessary to return to waiting time standards for cancer, including the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is aware of 15 British nationals who were killed on 7 October, during Hamas' attack on Israel. This is based on information provided to us by the Israeli authorities and affected bereaved families.
Since day one, we have been working alongside our allies and partners in the region in support of ongoing negotiations. The UK welcomes the tireless efforts of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States. We need the hostages returned immediately and unconditionally. We must see greater protection of civilians, a rapid increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and to enable the UN and humanitarian agencies to be able to operate safely in Gaza. During his most recent visit to the region on 9 October, the Foreign Secretary reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire to ensure their safe release.
Delivering development through partnerships is core to the government's mission to help create a world free from poverty on a liveable planet.
At the G20 Development Ministers Meeting, I endorsed the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty to promote partnerships and long-term solutions to tackling hunger and poverty and unlock much-needed finance. At the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, I engaged in discussions on financing development and reforming the global financial system for greater progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. This is alongside regular engagement with key international partners on food, agriculture and finance through the UK's bilateral and multilateral work.
HM Treasury releases a quarterly record of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations. This can be found online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.
The Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, published by the Government at the Autumn Budget, set out that we are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high-street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a Rateable Value of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but include the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.
The rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. The statutory definition for qualifying RHL properties will be set out in regulations ahead of implementation in the 2026-27 financial year.
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 29% on year up to June 2024, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We won’t stand for this.
Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job and this government is committed to taking retail crime seriously.
As part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission, we will introduce a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers to protect them from violence and abuse.
The scope of this new offence will be confirmed when legislation is brought forward.
The Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under close review, as we seek to protect the UK from the threats that we face. However, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
Iran’s malign activities, including the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The UK already maintains sanctions on over 450 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation, malign influence internationally and state threats, including sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety. The Government will continue to consider what further steps may be taken to deter Iran’s malign activity.
The National Security Act 2023 provides another significant toolkit in the fight against individuals working for state entities like the IRGC. The UK is now a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, including espionage, interference in our political system, sabotage, and assassination.
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and will use every lever available to deliver this.
We must ensure law enforcement relentlessly pursue perpetrators and that victims are supported to recover from this horrendous abuse. The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific 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 (NRM, 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 Washington and Gateshead South. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Tyne and Wear.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation.
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and will use every lever available to deliver this.
We must ensure law enforcement relentlessly pursue perpetrators and that victims are supported to recover from this horrendous abuse. The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific 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 (NRM, 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 Washington and Gateshead South. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Tyne and Wear.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation.
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and will use every lever available to deliver this.
We must ensure law enforcement relentlessly pursue perpetrators and that victims are supported to recover from this horrendous abuse. The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific 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 (NRM, 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 Washington and Gateshead South. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Tyne and Wear.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation.