Written questions by Smith.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 101646 on Offences against Children, whether guidance to volunteer groups will explicitly state that child sexual abuse must not be tolerated under any circumstances, even where apparent consent is claimed.

Guidance accompanying the new mandatory reporting duty will make clear that child sexual abuse must never be tolerated. The government will work closely with those impacted by the introduction of the duty to ensure it is clearly understood ahead of commencement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 101646 on Offences against Children, whether guidance will explicitly address the concerns outlined in the Casey Review that Child Sexual Exploitation cases were being dropped or downgraded from rape to lesser charges where a 13 to 15 year-old has been 'in love' or 'had consented to' sex with the perpetrator.

Guidance accompanying the new mandatory reporting duty will make clear that child sexual abuse must never be tolerated. The government will work closely with those impacted by the introduction of the duty to ensure it is clearly understood ahead of commencement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 101647 on Anti-social Behaviour: Children, whether she will provide a forum for volunteer groups to ask questions that may arise as a result of the new guidance.

Guidance accompanying the new mandatory reporting duty will make clear that child sexual abuse must never be tolerated. The government will work closely with those impacted by the introduction of the duty to ensure it is clearly understood ahead of commencement.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the governance, transparency and accountability of the Police Federation of England and Wales in the context of the remuneration of the General Secretary; and what steps she is taking to ensure effective oversight of statutory bodies funded by mandatory subscriptions.

We ask police officers to do a unique and challenging job, so it is vital that they have effective and robust representation of their interests through the Police Federation of England and Wales.The Police Federation must be fully accountable to its members and transparent in its use of members’ subscriptions, including the remuneration of those who lead the organisation.We expect the Police Federation to ensure timely publication of its accounts and to give clarity about its future governance and transformation, as key factors in being open and accountable to its members.

When she plans to publish guidance to clarify the legal position of children aged 13 to 16 under section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

Before commencing the new duty to report child sexual abuse, the Government will provide an appropriate period of time to prepare relevant sectors for implementation. This will include the development and publication of guidance for reporters.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that victims aged between 13 and 16 are adequately protected under section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill, in light of findings from the Casey Review.

In its final report to government, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recognised that in limited circumstances, a different approach to mandatory reporting may sometimes be necessary when considering sexual activity between teenagers – for example, kissing (where a reporter otherwise has no concerns about the situation).Section 75 of the Bill therefore provides reporters with some leeway on how to proceed where a child is over thirteen and in a consensual relationship with another young person. It does not mean a situation involving underage sexual activity should be met by indifference or inaction by those in positions of responsibility for children.Guidance accompanying the commencement of the duty will make clear that sexual relationships involving teenagers under the age of consent should be referred to a relevant agency for advice and support where appropriate.

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.

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.

What funding her Department has allocated to tackling violence against women and girls since 5 July 2024.

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.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current criminal and civil remedies available to victims of intimate image abuse; and with reference to Baroness Bertin's independent report entitled Creating a Safer World – the Challenge of Regulating Online Pornography, published in February 2025, whether she has assessed the potential merits of that report's recommendations on an independent redress mechanism to support victims whose images have been shared without consent.

Work to address the circulation of non-consensual intimate image (NCII) content online is an important part of the government’s ambition to halve VAWG in a decade, and the recently published VAWG Strategy includes a commitment to explore routes to ensure that intimate images that are taken, created or shared without consent are removed online. It is vital that victims and survivors have access to the support they need when they need it most. The Home Office provides funding to the Revenge Porn Helpline, which offers high-quality support and advice to victims of NCII abuse, engages with law enforcement and other stakeholders to improve the response to intimate image abuse, and raises awareness of the nature of NCII abuse and the harm that it can cause. The Government committed in the VAWG Strategy to create a joint team, across the Home Office, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Justice and Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to address the issues detailed in Baroness Bertin’s Independent Pornography Review and rigorously examine the evidence to inform the government’s approach to pornography policy. Further details on this will be shared in due course.

When her Department plans to publish its updated violence against women and girls strategy.

This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women andgirls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is.The new VAWG Strategy will set the direction for the next decade, driving forward the Government’s bold ambition to halve VAWG within ten years. Thisis a landmark commitment that demands a truly transformational approach.We are working tirelessly across government to deliver a Strategy that will setout bold, concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetratorsand bring them to justice, and protect victims and survivors. It’s vital we get itright.We’re working towards publication of the Strategy as soon as possibleand I will continue to keep the House updated on its development andforthcoming publication.

Whether the updated Violence Against Women and Girls strategy will include policies on tackling harms against (a) young boys vulnerable to child sexual abuse and (b) all children.

This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is.The new VAWG Strategy will set the direction for the next decade, driving forward the Government’s bold ambition to halve VAWG within ten years. This is a landmark commitment that demands a truly transformational approach.Tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation of both boys and girls will be clearly reflected in the VAWG strategy. But we also recognise that tackling child sexual abuse requires a tailored and child-centred approach. Which is why we are taking forward a separate and ambitious programme of work across Government, including through our response to the Baroness Casey Audit and IICSA recommendations.The new VAWG Strategy is being finalised, and we will be publishing as soon as possible.

Whether her Department has commissioned the use of (a) hotel accommodation and (b) private rented accommodation in South West Devon constituency for the purpose of housing asylum seekers since 4 July 2024.

Statistics are published on a quarterly basis detailing the number of asylum seekers in supported accommodation in each local authority area. The most recent publication can be found here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on expediting and expanding the Online Safety Act 2023 to tackle violence against women and girls.

The misuse of technology to abuse or harm others (including online) has a disproportionate impact on women and children and we know this is a significant and growing issue in the UK and worldwide.Tackling VAWG in all of its forms, including when it takes place online, is a top priority for this Government, and that's why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve these crimes in a decade.We will go further than before to deliver a cross-Government transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published this year. On 22 January 2025, the Government introduced new legislation which will make creating sexually explicit 'deepfake' images a criminal offence.The Online Safety Act 2023 designates material relating to child sexual exploitation and abuse as a priority offence. Platforms must put in place systems and processes to minimise and remove this content. The Illegal Harms Codes, laid before Parliament in December and coming into force from 17 March this year, sets out the steps companies must take to meet their duties under the Act to tackle this content.On 31 January 2024, the Act's new offences of cyberflashing and the sharing and threatening to share intimate images including 'deepfake' pornography without consent came into effect. These are also priority illegal offences.In addition, the Act requires Ofcom to produce guidance which summarises in one clear place measures that can be taken to tackle the abuse that women and girls disproportionately face online. Ofcom has begun developing this guidance and will consult on it this month.I regularly meet with the Minster for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety to discuss these matters, and my officials also engage regularly with DSIT on technology-facilitated VAWG.

What assessment she has has made of the potential impact of (a) Young Futures Hubs and (b) Young Futures Prevention Partnerships on tackling violence against women and girls.

The Government has set an ambitious target to halve VAWG in a decade. To achieve this, we must reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending but also prevent abuse from happening altogether.This focus on prevention also sits at the heart of the Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships.Young Futures Prevention Partnerships will bring local partners together to intervene earlier to ensure that vulnerable children at-risk of being drawn into a variety of crime types (including anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls) are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.Officials from across a range of departments are working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape how the Young Futures Hubs will work in practice.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of youth services on (a) preventing and (b) tackling violence against women and girls.

The Government has set an ambitious target to halve VAWG in a decade. To achieve this, we must reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending but also prevent abuse from happening all together.The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy will set out our strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver this ambition. We are considering a range of policy options across government to prevent these crimes including education for young people around healthy relationships and consent, community interventions and tackling online VAWG.That includes looking at how we can work most effectively with youth services and through the Young Futures programme to deliver this ambition.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that victims of rural crime in areas with poor (a) phone and (b) internet coverage are able to report those crimes promptly.

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime, with the introduction of stronger powers for the police to tackle antisocial behaviour, and action to tackle farm theft and fly-tipping.We are recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and police community support officers, including in rural areas, to ensure communities have somewhere to turn to report crimes and to report concerns.Improving telecoms is a Department of Science Innovation and Technology lead.

What her timetable is for bringing forward the secondary legislation under the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 to define the minimum standards for (a) immobilisers and (b) forensic markings required at point of sale.

We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.The necessary secondary legislation to implement the Act will set out the detail, which will include minimum required standards.I met with Ruth Bailey, CEO of Agriculture Association on the 5th November 2024 . I am currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation. I will be in contact with the industry during the process and hope to make a decision shortly.