Tag: Sarah Champion

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Government has spent on specialist BAME domestic violence services in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 to date.

Karen Bradley

The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence in all its forms and is determined to ensure all victims, including those from black and minority ethnic communities, have access to appropriate support.

The previous Government provided £40 million of dedicated funding for domestic and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015 equating to £10 million per year. This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refuges, and a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refuges. This funding supported all victims of domestic abuse, including victims from black and minority ethnic communities.

A new Violence Against Women and Girls strategy published on 8 March 2016 sets out how the Government will support local authorities in implementing tailored services for victims who experience different forms of discrimination or additional barriers to accessing support. This includes women from black and minority ethnic communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward proposals for secondary legislation on identifying and supporting victims under section 50 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Mike Penning

We are committed to ensuring we have an effective system for identifying and supporting victims. We reviewed and are piloting changes to the National Referral Mechanism. We will consider the introduction of regulations once the proposed changes to the National Referral Mechanism have been tested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) sexual harm prevention orders and (b) sexual risk orders have been made by courts in England; and how many people subject to each such order were under the age of 18.

Karen Bradley

The Home Office does not collate central figures on the number of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders issued in England. Figures collated by the police for management purposes, and provided to the Home Office, on the overall number of orders show that in the period between 8 March and 29 September, 2,425 full and 40 interim Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and 32 full and 13 interim Sexual Risk Orders were issued in England and Wales. This data is not broken down by age.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects the European Commission to publish the VAT Action Plan; and what plans he has to respond to that plan.

Mr David Gauke

The Action Plan is due to be published by the Commission shortly. It will be subject to the normal parliamentary scrutiny process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to publish the sentencing guidelines for Part 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Sentencing Guidelines are issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, a body independent of Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child abduction warning notices were served by police forces in England in the last 12 months; and how many such notices related to children aged 16 and 17.

Mike Penning

Child Abduction Warning Notices are currently used by the police as a deterrent against those thought to be grooming children, where the child is under the age of 16 if living at home, or under the age of 18 if living in the care of a local authority. These notices are a useful tool for the police and complement the strong new powers to protect the vulnerable from sexual predators that we introduced in the Serious Crime Act 2015. For example, breach of an Abduction Notice can become grounds for the issuing of a Sexual Risk Order.

There is no statutory or other legislative provision dealing specifically with the issue of Child Abduction Warning Notices; the Notices are part of an administrative process. Breach of a Notice is not a criminal offence and as such the police do not regularly record the number of Child Abduction Warning Notices issued.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to develop a strategy to support BAME specialist domestic violence charities.

Karen Bradley

The Government published a new Violence Against Women and Girls strategy on 8 March committing £80 million between 2016 and 2020 to protect women and girls from violence and abuse. The strategy sets out how we will support local areas in implementing tailored services for victims who experience different forms of discrimination or additional barriers to accessing support. This includes the launch of a Service Transformation Fund from 2017 which will help to meet the needs of women and girls experiencing multiple disadvantage including victims from black and minority ethnic communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when guidance on Part 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was sent to (a) Chief Police Officers in England and Wales, (b) the National Crime Agency, (c) HM Inspectorate of Constabularies and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

Sarah Newton

Guidance on Part 1 was sent to Chief Officers of Police, the NCA, HMIC and other partners on 9 July 2015 as part of a broader Home Office circular on the Modern Slavery Act. The circular was not copied to the Independent Chief Inspector of Border and Immigration but is easily accessible on GOV.UK. All Border Force officers undergo mandatory training on identifying victims of modern slavery and have access to relevant guidance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) sexual harm prevention orders and (b) sexual risk orders have been made by courts in England to protect children aged 16 and 17.

Karen Bradley

The Home Office does not collate central figures on the number of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders issued in England. Figures collated by the police for management purposes, and provided to the Home Office, on the overall number of orders show that in the period between 8 March and 29 September, 2,425 full and 40 interim Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and 32 full and 13 interim Sexual Risk Orders were issued in England and Wales. This data is not broken down by age.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ring-fence long term funding for specialist domestic violence charities.

Karen Bradley

The Government published a new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy on 8 March setting out an ambitious programme to make tackling VAWG everybody’s business, ensure victims and survivors get the support they need and inspire confidence in the Criminal Justice System to bring more perpetrators to justice as well as doing more to rehabilitate offenders.

The strategy committed £80 million between 2016 and 2020 to protect women and girls from violence. This increased funding will help to deliver our goal to work with local commissioners to deliver a secure future for rape support centres, refuges and FGM and Forced Marriage Units, whilst driving a major change across all services which promotes early intervention and prevention including through specialist domestic violence charities.