Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Ministry of Justice regarding the consistency and frequency of communication between police forces and victims of financial abuse and coercive control.
Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The government recognises the serious harm that these forms of abuse can cause and the challenges of policing them effectively. Our ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy’ includes a range of provisions against financial abuse including coerced debt, credit ratings, mortgages and other financial services and the work of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). On 20th April 2026 HM Treasury published a revised toolkit on tackling economic abuse, with specific links to the VAWG Strategy. We will also update the Statutory Guidance on Coercive or Controlling Behaviour (CCB) by the end of 2026 to reflect the evolution in our understanding of CCB since the original guidance was published.
In April 2025, the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) launched to provide national leadership on VAWG within policing. The Centre will improve the response to violence against women and girls, driving a change in policing attitudes to ensure that officers respond effectively to VAWG crimes, including CCB, and offer victims better support and consistent protection.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Ministry of Justice on the urgency with which police forces tackle financial abuse and coercive control.
Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The government recognises the serious harm that these forms of abuse can cause and the challenges of policing them effectively. Our ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy’ includes a range of provisions against financial abuse including coerced debt, credit ratings, mortgages and other financial services and the work of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). On 20th April 2026 HM Treasury published a revised toolkit on tackling economic abuse, with specific links to the VAWG Strategy. We will also update the Statutory Guidance on Coercive or Controlling Behaviour (CCB) by the end of 2026 to reflect the evolution in our understanding of CCB since the original guidance was published.
In April 2025, the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) launched to provide national leadership on VAWG within policing. The Centre will improve the response to violence against women and girls, driving a change in policing attitudes to ensure that officers respond effectively to VAWG crimes, including CCB, and offer victims better support and consistent protection.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help councils provide index-linked grants to women's centres that take account of changes in costs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are investing in local government. The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.
The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, including, for example, supporting women’s centres. Local authorities have the flexibility to use funding in a way that responds to local needs, and can prioritise based on their own understanding of the needs of their local communities.
Women’s centres receive support and funding from numerous sources. For example, the Ministry of Justice recently announced £31.6 million of funding for women’s community and voluntary organisations to deliver specialist support to female offenders.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to provide councils with sufficient funds to support women's centres.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are investing in local government. The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.
The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, including, for example, supporting women’s centres. Local authorities have the flexibility to use funding in a way that responds to local needs, and can prioritise based on their own understanding of the needs of their local communities.
Women’s centres receive support and funding from numerous sources. For example, the Ministry of Justice recently announced £31.6 million of funding for women’s community and voluntary organisations to deliver specialist support to female offenders.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made in the level of short-selling activity in UK-listed companies; and what steps the Financial Conduct Authority is taking to monitor the potential impact of short positions held by overseas fund managers on UK equity markets.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is a leading hub for global capital and the largest equity capital market in Europe, helping businesses across the economy to raise the capital they need to drive innovation and growth.
To support this, the government is committed to ensuring the UK remains an open and connected financial centre. International participation in UK markets supports liquidity, investment, and economic growth. At the same time, all firms operating in UK markets, including overseas participants, are subject to the UK's robust regulatory framework which underpin market integrity and financial stability.
In November 2024, the government laid legislation to introduce a new UK short selling regime. The legislation gives the FCA rulemaking and intervention powers over short selling within a new dedicated regulatory framework. The FCA published its associated rules in a Policy Statement in April 2026.
These reforms will enable short selling to operate with appropriate safeguards, while supporting effective and globally competitive markets.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the level of use of subsidiary structures by overseas fund managers to hold short positions in UK-listed companies; and what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of FCA oversight over the ownership of such positions.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is a leading hub for global capital and the largest equity capital market in Europe, helping businesses across the economy to raise the capital they need to drive innovation and growth.
To support this, the government is committed to ensuring the UK remains an open and connected financial centre. International participation in UK markets supports liquidity, investment, and economic growth. At the same time, all firms operating in UK markets, including overseas participants, are subject to the UK's robust regulatory framework which underpin market integrity and financial stability.
In November 2024, the government laid legislation to introduce a new UK short selling regime. The legislation gives the FCA rulemaking and intervention powers over short selling within a new dedicated regulatory framework. The FCA published its associated rules in a Policy Statement in April 2026.
These reforms will enable short selling to operate with appropriate safeguards, while supporting effective and globally competitive markets.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the activities of overseas financial market participants in UK equity markets support the Government's objectives for UK business investment and economic growth.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is a leading hub for global capital and the largest equity capital market in Europe, helping businesses across the economy to raise the capital they need to drive innovation and growth.
To support this, the government is committed to ensuring the UK remains an open and connected financial centre. International participation in UK markets supports liquidity, investment, and economic growth. At the same time, all firms operating in UK markets, including overseas participants, are subject to the UK's robust regulatory framework which underpin market integrity and financial stability.
In November 2024, the government laid legislation to introduce a new UK short selling regime. The legislation gives the FCA rulemaking and intervention powers over short selling within a new dedicated regulatory framework. The FCA published its associated rules in a Policy Statement in April 2026.
These reforms will enable short selling to operate with appropriate safeguards, while supporting effective and globally competitive markets.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Office for Equalities and Opportunities on the potential impact of the shortening of custodial sentences on women's centres' (a) resources and (b) capacity, in relation to women who were previously receiving support whilst incarcerated.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Sentencing Act introduces a presumption to suspend short sentences. Along with increased use of suspended sentences and increased flexibility to defer a sentence for longer, this is expected to reduce the number of women going to prison. We know that around 60% of adults sentenced for under a year reoffend within 12 months, and evidence shows that those given a community-based sentence reoffend less than similar offenders given a short prison sentence.
Women’s centres play an important role in supporting women in the justice system – they are funded from a range of sources, including government grants and independent funding from trusts and foundations.
HMPPS-funded Women’s Commissioned Rehabilitative Services provide support for women in custody and the community and are delivered by specialist organisations including women’s centres. These services are currently being recommissioned and the future Community Support service will commence around September 2028.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice is providing £31.6 million in funding over the 2026-2029 Spending Review period for women’s community and voluntary organisations to strengthen diversion pathways and build capacity within the sector. This funding represents an increase of £10 million across the period.