Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 27 February (HL2409), when the Government-funded feasibility study on estimating the prevalence of female genital mutilation and forced marriage in England and Wales will be published.

As part of our commitment in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2021, the Home Office commissioned the University of Birmingham in April 2023 to conduct a feasibility study to examine whether it is possible to develop prevalence estimates for both Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Marriage.

Given the hidden nature of these crimes and lack of robust estimates, knowing more about the individuals that experience it disproportionately will allow us to make more effective, evidence-based interventions.

We have now received the final report and are reviewing the findings to determine next steps.