Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on taking steps to prevent people being sexually exploited on websites advertising prostitution in Gower constituency.

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 an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.

We continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure there is a relentless pursuit of prolific perpetrators, including through operational intensification initiatives.

We are also clear that online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation and must be responsible and accountable for content on their sites, including taking proactive steps to prevent their sites being used by criminals. 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, or face significant penalties.

Home Office Ministers regularly meet with ministerial colleagues from other departments, as well as stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators who pose a risk to women and girls, and to enhance support for victims who are being sexually exploited.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Taliban's decision to (a) ban women from medical training and (b) prohibit male medics from treating female patients.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is deeply concerned at reports of a ban on women accessing medical training in Afghanistan. We strongly condemn this and urge the Taliban to reverse this decision. Female health workers are critical to treating women-focused health issues such as reproductive health. These decisions are yet another affront to girls' right to education and will threaten the lives of countless women and girls who will be denied critical medical care, as well as their future children. Our ongoing support to those Afghans most in need is more essential than ever, and we remain committed that at least 50% of those reached by UK aid are women and girls.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Afghan counterpart on the treatment of women and girls in that country.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We have repeatedly condemned Taliban restrictions on women and girls' rights, both bilaterally and internationally. As the Foreign Secretary has said, exclusion of women from all aspects of public life is a tragic setback for Afghanistan.

Officials from the Doha-based UK Mission to Afghanistan continue to press Taliban acting ministers and Afghan officials on human rights abuses in Afghanistan. Officials visit Kabul regularly, raising issues directly with senior members of the Taliban, including the unacceptable violations of the rights of women and girls. Since 4 December officials have been raising the issue of the Taliban ban on women accessing medical education and training in Afghanistan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the replacement of the term females with the term individuals with child-bearing potential in Schedule 2 of the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 on (a) clinical staff and patients’ understanding of those Regulations and (b) patient care in sex-specific healthcare settings.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A review of the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) 2017 concluded in 2023. Following consultation with expert groups, including the UK Health Security Agency, United Kingdom medical regulators, and professional bodies, the review found that there was no evidence that use of the term ‘individuals with child-bearing potential’ in the regulations was leading to misinterpretation. The Government is clear that it expects all health services, including medical exposure procedures, to be delivered in line with the Equality Act 2010.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department holds data on Welsh prisoners by (a) sex, (b) ethnicity, (c) socio-economic background, (d) offence type, (e) sentence type and (f) local authority.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot identify Welsh prisoners because English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish nationalities are not captured separately on the central data system. UK nationals are all recorded as British.

HMPPS can provide data on prisoners with an address in Wales, broken down by sex, ethnicity, offence type, sentence type and local authority. We do not hold data on offenders’ socio-economic background.

Around 97% of prisoners have addresses that are recorded on the central data system. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for residence. Prisoners with no recorded origin are typically foreign nationals, or those recently received into custody where no address has yet been assigned.

It is important to note that someone with an address, for example in London, may consider themselves to be Welsh, while someone with an address in Wales may not. It is not possible to infer from an address in Wales that an individual considers themselves to be Welsh.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department holds data on the number of Welsh people in the prison system.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot identify Welsh prisoners because English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish nationalities are not captured separately on the central data system. UK nationals are all recorded as British.

HMPPS can provide data on prisoners with an address in Wales, broken down by sex, ethnicity, offence type, sentence type and local authority. We do not hold data on offenders’ socio-economic background.

Around 97% of prisoners have addresses that are recorded on the central data system. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for residence. Prisoners with no recorded origin are typically foreign nationals, or those recently received into custody where no address has yet been assigned.

It is important to note that someone with an address, for example in London, may consider themselves to be Welsh, while someone with an address in Wales may not. It is not possible to infer from an address in Wales that an individual considers themselves to be Welsh.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ongoing closure of Holyhead Port on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ferry travel between Dublin and Holyhead continues to be severely affected by closure due to damage inflicted by Storm Darragh on Holyhead until it reopens early next year. The direct effect is on crossings between the UK and the Republic of Ireland though alternative routes from Liverpool and Cairnryan to Belfast and Larne are available and capacity is being reinforced. There are onward effects on UK services, but these are manageable. Government is concerned about the impact on local businesses and communities and are in close contact with the Welsh Government, who lead, together with port and ferry operators.

England men's cricket team's upcoming fixture against Afghanistan

Violence against women in Northern Ireland

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Alistair Carmichael (Chair); Tonia Antoniazzi; Sarah Bool; Charlie

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Alistair Carmichael (Chair); Tonia Antoniazzi; Sarah Bool; Charlie

Found: Tonia Antoniazzi Chair Northern Ireland Affairs Committee House of Commons London SW1A 0AA

Found: tonia.antoniazzi.mp@parliament.uk> Subject: SoR Letter to Chair NI select committee Importance: High Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Tonia Antoniazzi (Chair); Chris Bloore; Sorcha Eastwood; Claire Hanna

Found: girls 15 Commons Library Debate Pack, Taliban: Medicine 16 Dec 2024 | 17860 Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Found: _NC4 Alex Sobel Charlotte Nichols Carla Denyer Dr Simon Opher Cat Eccles Paula Barker Tonia Antoniazzi

Submit Evidence (by 31 Jan 2025)

The committee is undertaking an inquiry into the operation of the Windsor Framework in Northern Ireland, scrutinising the implementation of commitments from the movement of goods to rights obligations.

Submit Evidence (by 5 Feb 2025)

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry into Government policy on the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.