Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
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 Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a government priority. VAWG is an unacceptable, preventable issue which blights the lives of millions.
We have made significant progress since we published the Tackling VAWG Strategy in July 2021, including action to tackle the causes of these crimes. We have:
In addition, in May 2022, the Home Office launched a competition on What Works to prevent violence against women and girls. This will provide multi-year funding to providers and be accompanied by extensive evaluation to increase our understanding of what works.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2022 to Question 58984 on Railways: Recruitment, what proportion of train drivers who qualified in the last 2 years were women.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Train Operating Companies are best placed to confirm vacancies they may hold within their respective businesses, including train drivers, as they are responsible for the recruitment, training and licensing of their employees. These companies should also have details as to the number of qualified and trainee train drivers they have contracted to work at any one given time.
The Department for Transport has ongoing discussions with the train operating companies (TOCs) about a range of matters relating to their contractual obligations which include delivering on their passenger service requirements.
Asked by: Jacob Young (Conservative - Redcar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether territorial forces are able to apply for additional funding to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Safer Streets Round 4 was launched on 18 March and was open to Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, British Transport Police and eligible civil society organisations across England and Wales to submit bids. This latest round combined and expanded on Rounds One, Two and Three of the Safer Streets Fund, and the Safety of Women at Night Fund, and targets neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls, and anti-social behaviour as a primary focus for the first time.
The bidding for round 4 has now closed and on 25 July the Government announced £50 million funding for 111 projects. This includes 83 projects which will deliver a wide range of interventions to tackle ASB, including: outreach and diversionary activities; educational programmes; professional development courses; ‘street scene’ enhancements; behavioural change campaigns; additional CCTV cameras; and multi-agency training.
Police forces have also received funding to recruit additional officers. We have given forces the biggest funding increase in a decade and they are recruiting 20,000 additional officers by March 2023, which provides extra resource to protect the public and keep us safe.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken towards implementation of the Government's Tackling violence against women and girls strategy.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a government priority. VAWG is an unacceptable, preventable issue which blights the lives of millions.
One year on from the publication of the Tackling VAWG Strategy, we have made significant progress and delivered a number of key commitments to help ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere - at home, online, at work and in public spaces. This includes action to tackle the causes of these crimes. We have:
o supported the introduction of a new full-time National Policing Lead for VAWG, DCC Maggie Blyth, to help strengthen the police response;
o ratified the Istanbul Convention on 21 July 2022, demonstrating to women in the UK and to our partners overseas our commitment to tackling VAWG;
o launched the first phase of our national communications campaign, ‘Enough’, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society, educate young people about healthy relationships and consent, and ensure victims can recognise abuse and receive support;
o announced that we will add VAWG to the Strategic Policing Requirement meaning it will be set out as a national threat for forces to respond to alongside other threats such as terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse;
o allocated £55 million to communities through the Safer Streets Fund and Safety of Women at Night Fund, including for extra CCTV, streetlighting and work to change attitudes and work to preventing VAWG in public spaces at night;
o published a refreshed National Statement of Expectations and accompanying VAWG Commissioning Toolkit to outline the activity that local areas should undertake to ensure victims and survivors of VAWG get the help and support they need;
o criminalised virginity testing, to send a clear message that this practice is wholly unacceptable in our society;
o appointed joint Transport Champions to help make public transport safer for women and girls; and
o piloted a tool, StreetSafe, which enables the public to anonymously report areas where they feel unsafe.
In addition, in May 2022, the Home Office launched a competition on What Works to prevent violence against women and girls. This will provide multi-year funding to providers and be accompanied by extensive evaluation to increase our understanding of what works.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle the root causes of violence against women and girls.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a government priority. VAWG is an unacceptable, preventable issue which blights the lives of millions.
One year on from the publication of the Tackling VAWG Strategy, we have made significant progress and delivered a number of key commitments to help ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere - at home, online, at work and in public spaces. This includes action to tackle the causes of these crimes. We have:
o supported the introduction of a new full-time National Policing Lead for VAWG, DCC Maggie Blyth, to help strengthen the police response;
o ratified the Istanbul Convention on 21 July 2022, demonstrating to women in the UK and to our partners overseas our commitment to tackling VAWG;
o launched the first phase of our national communications campaign, ‘Enough’, to challenge the harmful behaviours that exist within wider society, educate young people about healthy relationships and consent, and ensure victims can recognise abuse and receive support;
o announced that we will add VAWG to the Strategic Policing Requirement meaning it will be set out as a national threat for forces to respond to alongside other threats such as terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse;
o allocated £55 million to communities through the Safer Streets Fund and Safety of Women at Night Fund, including for extra CCTV, streetlighting and work to change attitudes and work to preventing VAWG in public spaces at night;
o published a refreshed National Statement of Expectations and accompanying VAWG Commissioning Toolkit to outline the activity that local areas should undertake to ensure victims and survivors of VAWG get the help and support they need;
o criminalised virginity testing, to send a clear message that this practice is wholly unacceptable in our society;
o appointed joint Transport Champions to help make public transport safer for women and girls; and
o piloted a tool, StreetSafe, which enables the public to anonymously report areas where they feel unsafe.
In addition, in May 2022, the Home Office launched a competition on What Works to prevent violence against women and girls. This will provide multi-year funding to providers and be accompanied by extensive evaluation to increase our understanding of what works.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate the Government has made of the number of women in England who are unable to take on more paid work as a result of the cost of childcare.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No assessment has been made.
The Department is aware that for some UC claimants' childcare costs presents challenges to entering employment. To support parents to become financially resilient by moving into work and progressing in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work, compared to 70% in Tax Credits. This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth over £13,000 a year.
This support is available to all lone parents and couples, regardless of the number of hours they work. For couples, both parents need to be in paid work to be eligible unless one of the allowable exceptions is met.
The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer in England and there are similar funded early learning offers in devolved nations. The Free Childcare offer provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3- and 4-year old's and disadvantaged 2-year old's, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year old's to 30 hours a week.
The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant's eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required. This offer means that for some claimants' childcare costs should not present any barriers to entering work.
UC claimants who need help with upfront childcare costs to enter employment or significantly increase their working hours can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). This is non-repayable and will pay their initial childcare costs directly to the provider up to the first salary received.
Through a staged rollout from April 2022 onwards, 2.1m low paid Universal Credit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher paid work. This will be provided by work coaches and focus on career progression advice, such as considering skills gaps, identifying training opportunities, or looking for opportunities for the claimant to progress in their current role or in a new role. Jobcentres will be supported in this new role by a network of 37 Progression Champions across Great Britain who will spearhead the scheme. They will work with partners to address local barriers that limit progression, such as transport and childcare.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to ensure that people are aware of how they can access help in the event that they feel unsafe in a local area at nights or in the evening.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are delivering on the people’s priorities to cut crime and make our communities safe. The Safer Streets Fund provides local areas with the resources they need to prevent crime and improve safety in high crime locations across England and Wales. Since 2020, three Rounds of the Fund have completed, worth £70 million in Government investment. These rounds have focused on reducing neighbourhood crimes, such as burglary and robbery, and preventing violence against women and girls in public through interventions such as improved street lighting and home security, as well as education and training initiatives. The Fund has included funding for street pastors and similar guardianship initiatives.
The Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund also ran over the 2021/22 financial year and was focused on improving women’s safety in the night time economy, including through awareness raising initiatives, creating safe spaces, and targeting perpetrator behaviour. The SWaN and all rounds of the Safer Streets Fund are subject to independent evaluation to assess impact.
This Government has committed £50 million a year to the Safer Streets Fund for the next three years. A fourth round of the Fund launched in March, open to Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, the British Transport Police, and eligible civil society organisations. This round focuses on improving the safety of women and girls in public, including in the night-time economy, as well as tackling neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on creating safe spaces in town and city centres for women and other vulnerable people to visit in the evening or at night.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are delivering on the people’s priorities to cut crime and make our communities safe. The Safer Streets Fund provides local areas with the resources they need to prevent crime and improve safety in high crime locations across England and Wales. Since 2020, three Rounds of the Fund have completed, worth £70 million in Government investment. These rounds have focused on reducing neighbourhood crimes, such as burglary and robbery, and preventing violence against women and girls in public through interventions such as improved street lighting and home security, as well as education and training initiatives. The Fund has included funding for street pastors and similar guardianship initiatives.
The Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund also ran over the 2021/22 financial year and was focused on improving women’s safety in the night time economy, including through awareness raising initiatives, creating safe spaces, and targeting perpetrator behaviour. The SWaN and all rounds of the Safer Streets Fund are subject to independent evaluation to assess impact.
This Government has committed £50 million a year to the Safer Streets Fund for the next three years. A fourth round of the Fund launched in March, open to Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, the British Transport Police, and eligible civil society organisations. This round focuses on improving the safety of women and girls in public, including in the night-time economy, as well as tackling neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support local authorities with the provision of interventions to ensure that women feel safe when walking in their local areas at night.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are delivering on the people’s priorities to cut crime and make our communities safe. The Safer Streets Fund provides local areas with the resources they need to prevent crime and improve safety in high crime locations across England and Wales. Since 2020, three Rounds of the Fund have completed, worth £70 million in Government investment. These rounds have focused on reducing neighbourhood crimes, such as burglary and robbery, and preventing violence against women and girls in public through interventions such as improved street lighting and home security, as well as education and training initiatives. The Fund has included funding for street pastors and similar guardianship initiatives.
The Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund also ran over the 2021/22 financial year and was focused on improving women’s safety in the night time economy, including through awareness raising initiatives, creating safe spaces, and targeting perpetrator behaviour. The SWaN and all rounds of the Safer Streets Fund are subject to independent evaluation to assess impact.
This Government has committed £50 million a year to the Safer Streets Fund for the next three years. A fourth round of the Fund launched in March, open to Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, the British Transport Police, and eligible civil society organisations. This round focuses on improving the safety of women and girls in public, including in the night-time economy, as well as tackling neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to create safer streets, particularly during the evening and at night.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are delivering on the people’s priorities to cut crime and make our communities safe. The Safer Streets Fund provides local areas with the resources they need to prevent crime and improve safety in high crime locations across England and Wales. Since 2020, three Rounds of the Fund have completed, worth £70 million in Government investment. These rounds have focused on reducing neighbourhood crimes, such as burglary and robbery, and preventing violence against women and girls in public through interventions such as improved street lighting and home security, as well as education and training initiatives. The Fund has included funding for street pastors and similar guardianship initiatives.
The Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund also ran over the 2021/22 financial year and was focused on improving women’s safety in the night time economy, including through awareness raising initiatives, creating safe spaces, and targeting perpetrator behaviour. The SWaN and all rounds of the Safer Streets Fund are subject to independent evaluation to assess impact.
This Government has committed £50 million a year to the Safer Streets Fund for the next three years. A fourth round of the Fund launched in March, open to Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, the British Transport Police, and eligible civil society organisations. This round focuses on improving the safety of women and girls in public, including in the night-time economy, as well as tackling neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.