Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to set out a timetable for the implementation of the recommendations of Baroness Bertin's Independent Pornography Review by May 2026.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’ commits to creating a joint team to address the issues in Baroness Bertin’s Review. The team will be formed by the Home Office, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Justice and Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It will examine the evidence to inform the government’s approach to pornography policy.
Government has already taken action. Pornography showing strangulation or suffocation will be criminalised under the Crime and Policing Bill and will be a priority offence under the Online Safety Act.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of non-consensual sexual deepfake images have been recorded by police forces in England and Wales in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what steps her Department is taking to prevent the creation and distribution of synthetic sexual images.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Office for National Statistics publishes information on the number of ‘threaten to share intimate photograph or film’ offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, but information on whether these offences involved non-consensual sexual deepfake images is not centrally held. Data for these offences can be found in Table 11 on the Office for National Statistic’s website (Sexual offences prevalence and victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics)
On 18 December 2025, the Government published ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: A Cross-Government Strategy to Build a Safer Society for Women and Girls’, which included an announcement to ban nudification apps and other tools designed to create synthetic non-consensual intimate images. This Strategy includes a commitment to explore routes to ensure that intimate images that are taken, created or shared without consent are removed online.
In January 2024, the Online Safety Act brought into force offences for the sharing, and threatening to share intimate images including ‘deepfakes’. These are ‘priority illegal offences’, the most serious category of online offence under the Act.
The Data (Use and Access) Act inserts new offences into the Sexual Offences Act 2003, criminalising the creation and requesting the creation of an intimate deepfake without consent or reasonable belief in consent.
In addition, the Home Office introduced world-leading measures making the UK the first country to outlaw possession, creation and distribution of AI tools for generating child sexual abuse material, as well as criminalising paedophile manuals that instruct others on developing such tools.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide an update on the renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy and confirm if there will be an opportunity for organisations to contribute to the updated strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Publishing a renewed Women’s Health Strategy next year will ensure the momentum from our recent achievements continues and is fully aligned with the 10-Year Health Plan. We will identify and remove enduring barriers to high-quality care, such as decreasing wait times for diagnosis and ensuring professionals listen to women and respond to their needs.
We are currently engaging with external partners to inform the renewal of the strategy, bringing together voices from across Government, NHS England, public health, mental health, women’s health advocacy, and employment policy alongside women with lived experience of women’s health conditions.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which department has lead responsibility for policy on online pornography regulation; and with reference to Baroness Bertin's independent report entitled Creating a Safer World – the Challenge of Regulating Online Pornography, published in February 2025, what assessment she has made of that report's finding that fragmented Government responsibilities impede effective regulation of online pornography.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Baroness Bertin’s independent report made 32 recommendations, including on governance and oversight of pornography policy. The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025 commits to creating a joint team to address the issues detailed in the report. As this team is not yet set up, I am answering this question from the Cabinet Office, as there is currently no lead department for this work.
The team will be formed by the Home Office, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Justice and Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It will examine the evidence to inform the government’s approach to pornography policy, including the question of departmental responsibility.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the publication of the Colombian Ombudsman’s Alert on 2 December 2025, what analysis her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the security situation of the Wayuu indigenous peoples in la Guajira.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is concerned that women, children and indigenous communities in Colombia continue to be disproportionately affected by the armed conflict. The UK supports Colombia's efforts to strengthen peace and security through long-standing assistance to the 2016 Peace Agreement, worth £2.95 million this year. This includes support for rural development, reintegration processes and transitional justice mechanisms. UK programming strengthens institutions responsible for protection and human rights monitoring, including the Ombudsman's early warning systems protecting defenders, children and vulnerable communities. The UK regularly raises concerns about child recruitment and other grave violations at UN Security Council sessions on Colombia. We also engage directly with Colombian authorities through the newly established Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in Bogotá. These efforts complement wider UK commitments to peace, stability and human rights in Colombia.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the publication of the Colombian Ombudsman’s Alert on 2 December 2025, what analysis her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the security situation of the Wiwa Indigenous Peoples.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is concerned that women, children and indigenous communities in Colombia continue to be disproportionately affected by the armed conflict. The UK supports Colombia's efforts to strengthen peace and security through long-standing assistance to the 2016 Peace Agreement, worth £2.95 million this year. This includes support for rural development, reintegration processes and transitional justice mechanisms. UK programming strengthens institutions responsible for protection and human rights monitoring, including the Ombudsman's early warning systems protecting defenders, children and vulnerable communities. The UK regularly raises concerns about child recruitment and other grave violations at UN Security Council sessions on Colombia. We also engage directly with Colombian authorities through the newly established Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in Bogotá. These efforts complement wider UK commitments to peace, stability and human rights in Colombia.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has increased or reduced its funding to Colombia for the implementation of the Peace Accord.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is concerned that women, children and indigenous communities in Colombia continue to be disproportionately affected by the armed conflict. The UK supports Colombia's efforts to strengthen peace and security through long-standing assistance to the 2016 Peace Agreement, worth £2.95 million this year. This includes support for rural development, reintegration processes and transitional justice mechanisms. UK programming strengthens institutions responsible for protection and human rights monitoring, including the Ombudsman's early warning systems protecting defenders, children and vulnerable communities. The UK regularly raises concerns about child recruitment and other grave violations at UN Security Council sessions on Colombia. We also engage directly with Colombian authorities through the newly established Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in Bogotá. These efforts complement wider UK commitments to peace, stability and human rights in Colombia.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Colombian counterpart on the increase in child recruitment by illegal armed groups in Columbia.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is concerned that women, children and indigenous communities in Colombia continue to be disproportionately affected by the armed conflict. The UK supports Colombia's efforts to strengthen peace and security through long-standing assistance to the 2016 Peace Agreement, worth £2.95 million this year. This includes support for rural development, reintegration processes and transitional justice mechanisms. UK programming strengthens institutions responsible for protection and human rights monitoring, including the Ombudsman's early warning systems protecting defenders, children and vulnerable communities. The UK regularly raises concerns about child recruitment and other grave violations at UN Security Council sessions on Colombia. We also engage directly with Colombian authorities through the newly established Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in Bogotá. These efforts complement wider UK commitments to peace, stability and human rights in Colombia.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding her Department is providing to Colombia to tackle violence against women and girls.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is concerned that women, children and indigenous communities in Colombia continue to be disproportionately affected by the armed conflict. The UK supports Colombia's efforts to strengthen peace and security through long-standing assistance to the 2016 Peace Agreement, worth £2.95 million this year. This includes support for rural development, reintegration processes and transitional justice mechanisms. UK programming strengthens institutions responsible for protection and human rights monitoring, including the Ombudsman's early warning systems protecting defenders, children and vulnerable communities. The UK regularly raises concerns about child recruitment and other grave violations at UN Security Council sessions on Colombia. We also engage directly with Colombian authorities through the newly established Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in Bogotá. These efforts complement wider UK commitments to peace, stability and human rights in Colombia.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made any cuts to Colombia’s allocation in the ODA budget.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is concerned that women, children and indigenous communities in Colombia continue to be disproportionately affected by the armed conflict. The UK supports Colombia's efforts to strengthen peace and security through long-standing assistance to the 2016 Peace Agreement, worth £2.95 million this year. This includes support for rural development, reintegration processes and transitional justice mechanisms. UK programming strengthens institutions responsible for protection and human rights monitoring, including the Ombudsman's early warning systems protecting defenders, children and vulnerable communities. The UK regularly raises concerns about child recruitment and other grave violations at UN Security Council sessions on Colombia. We also engage directly with Colombian authorities through the newly established Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in Bogotá. These efforts complement wider UK commitments to peace, stability and human rights in Colombia.