Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This government is taking significant steps to make sure violence against women and girls is treated as the national emergency it is. Already, in the first six months of this Government, that has included:

• Embedding the first domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in five police forces under Raneem’s Law.
• Starting the long-awaited roll-out of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders.
• Giving the police new powers to disclose the identities of online stalkers.
• Bringing forward a new standalone criminal offence of spiking.
• And improving the management of perpetrators by ensuring that those convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour, and sentenced to 12 months or longer, are now automatically managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.

These are just some of the crucial first steps we have taken as part of our unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to introduce (a) incentives and (b) funding mechanisms to encourage businesses and public sector organisations to comply with strengthened cybersecurity requirements under the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen our defences and ensure that more essential and digital services are protected than ever.

The Bill will require regulated entities to take proportionate steps to address vulnerabilities in our digital economy and protect our essential services against cyber attacks. We will work closely with industry, public sector organisations and regulators to support organisations in complying with their new obligations under the Bill.

By safeguarding our nation's essential services and digital infrastructure, we will create a stable environment in which investment and innovation can thrive.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the public sector is adequately protected under the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and whether he plans to extend regulatory requirements to public sector organisations.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s existing cyber regulatory framework (the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018) by protecting more digital and essential services, putting regulators on a stronger footing, and increasing reporting requirements.

The NIS Regulations covers five sectors (transport, energy, drinking water, health, digital infrastructure) and some digital services (online marketplaces, online search engines, cloud computing services). Where a public body delivers these services, such as NHS Trusts, they are in scope of the NIS Regulations.

The Bill will include powers that will enable more services and sectors to be brought into scope of regulation in the future, where this is considered necessary to address emerging risks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps with Kent Councils to identify further financial support for the A229 Bluebell Junction improvements.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Kent County Council plans to submit an Outline Business Case to the Department in summer 2026. If this is approved, under current arrangements the Department’s maximum funding contribution would be up to a maximum of 85% of the total estimated cost at Outline Business Case stage. This would be conditional on approval by government to a Full Business Case. The Council currently forecasts works starting in spring 2029.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to facilitate the registration of postal voters.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Electors who wish to apply for a postal vote can choose to make their application on paper, or online for reserved elections in Great Britain.

Giving electors the choice to apply for an absent vote through a paper application or online gives electors more control over their voting arrangements, whether they choose to vote in person, via post, or via a proxy. The online postal and proxy vote application services also make the process easier and simpler for many electors. Over 1.5 million people in Great Britain made an application to vote by post or via a proxy in the run-up to the General Election last year. Between the election being called on the 22nd of May 2024 and the deadline for absent vote applications, 84% of postal vote applications and 93% of proxy vote applications were made using the online services.

Over 90% of electors who chose to apply for a postal or proxy vote online during this period found the services to be effective and said that they were satisfied with them.

These services make our democratic system more accessible for electors, and the Government is supporting work to expand their scope. The Government recently gave its full support to the Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill. If passed, the Bill will allow applications for postal and proxy voting arrangements for Welsh and Scottish Parliamentary elections, and local elections in Wales and Scotland, to be made online.

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European Remembrance Day for victims of terrorism

120th anniversary of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

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80th anniversary of Operation Open Door

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British Science Week