Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department has allocated to tackling violence against women and girls since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office allocated £74 million in FY2024/2025 and £122.3 million in FY2025/2026 to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Our investment funds a range of vital frontline support services to victims of VAWG, improving police response to VAWG and tackling the root causes of VAWG.
The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is. The cross-government VAWG Strategy,published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our unprecedented commitment to halve VAWG in a decade. The Strategy is backed by at least £1 billion funding across government over the spending review period.
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: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will confirm funding for perpetrator intervention services for the next financial year.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is.
We have committed to several measures in the recently published Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy that aim to disrupt perpetrators in the community and reduce revictimisation. We will:
This landmark investment into disrupting the behaviour of perpetrators is about shifting the way we combat domestic abuse, putting the responsibility for ending abuse on those who cause it.
We have confirmed continuation of funding of the current Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund for a period of six months from April 2026 to provide continuity ahead of anticipated competitions.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to respond to the recommendations made by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on their updated code of practice following the For Women Scotland ruling.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer the Hon Member to my written answer to PQ92379, dated 26 November 2025, which provides the information you requested.
The EHRC has revised its Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations following the consultation and submitted it to the Minister for Women and Equalities on 4 September 2025. This is a long and legally complex document which will have an impact on service providers up and down the country. Rightfully we are carefully considering it.
The process for laying the Code in Parliament is set out in the Equality Act 2006. The Government will follow this process. If the decision is taken to approve the Code, it will be laid before Parliament for a 40 day period.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has issued guidance to clinicians on appropriate language to use when recording, reporting and discussing cases of female genital mutilation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Home Office, the Department for Education, and the Department of Health and Social Care issued multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation (FGM), which as updated in July 2020. The guidance ensures that health and other staff understand their role in responding to FGM, and that there are policies and procedures in place to protect women and girls who have undergone or are at risk of FGM.
NHS England is currently updating the e-learning training for the Healthcare FGM Module for publication in 2026. This training has a section on communication and includes the importance of sensitive language, including asking healthcare staff to check which terminology the woman or girl prefers. The training will provide healthcare staff with the skills to consider, recognise, and discuss FGM with the women and girls they support, and provide sensitive and trauma-informed response.
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, 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.
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 assessment her Department have made of the potential implications for her policies of the upsurge in the forced recruitment of children in Colombia in 2024 and 2025.
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.