Written questions by Gilbert.

With reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 7 October 2024 on Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East, Official Report, column 38, what steps her Department is taking to support Lebanese nationals with temporary leave to remain to stay in the UK during the current conflict.

We are deeply concerned by the continuing tensions and civilian casualties in Lebanon. I know how important it is for Lebanese nationals in the UK to have certainty on their immigration status, particularly in light of the ongoing conflict in their home country. Lebanese nationals who are already living in the UK and have permission to stay should continue to follow their immigration conditions. For those whose permission to stay is due to expire, there are a variety of existing routes under the Immigration Rules to allow a person to extend, or vary, their permission in the UK, which are set out on gov.uk. We are monitoring the situation in Lebanon closely and keeping all existing pathways under constant review for Lebanese nationals currently in the UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the New Lines Institute’s publication entitled Genocide in Tigray: Serious Breaches of International Law in the Tigray Conflict, Ethiopia, and the Paths to Accountability.

The 'Genocide in Tigray' report by the New Lines Institute has drawn attention to the conduct of actors during the conflict of 2020-2022. The report is consistent with UN investigations which concluded that all sides committed major human rights violations and abuses, some of which might amount to crimes against humanity. UK policy is that genocide can only be determined by a credible international court. The UK has consistently called for accountability for victims of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and is supporting Ethiopia's transitional justice efforts, including by working with national human rights organisations to enhance evidence collection that could support criminal procedures.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to prevent children being exposed to pornography.

The Government is committed to keeping children safe online. Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that children benefit from its wide-reaching protections.The Act requires that all in scope services that allow pornography use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing it, including services that host user-generated content, and services which publish pornography. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers available against companies who fail to fulfil their duties.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce demand for trafficking for sexual exploitation in Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers to deliver this.The criminal justice system and support for victims are devolved matters. However, given the cross-border nature of sexual exploitation, the Home Office works closely with the Scottish Government and law enforcement partners to ensure our approach to victim identification and support, and our pursuit of perpetrators is joined up.We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Edinburgh North and Leith. However, between January and June 2024, there were 13 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in the City of Edinburgh. We understand this will not be the full extent.Available academic research on prostitution highlights the challenges in estimating prevalence. Research conducted by the University of Bristol focusing on England and Wales was unable to identify a single prevalence estimate. However, it assessed a number of existing national estimates made over the last 20 years which ranged from 35,882 to 104,964, across England and Wales.Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent organised crime groups advertising victims of (a) trafficking and (b) other sexual exploitation offences on websites advertising prostitution in Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers to deliver this.The criminal justice system and support for victims are devolved matters. However, given the cross-border nature of sexual exploitation, the Home Office works closely with the Scottish Government and law enforcement partners to ensure our approach to victim identification and support, and our pursuit of perpetrators is joined up.We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Edinburgh North and Leith. However, between January and June 2024, there were 13 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in the City of Edinburgh. We understand this will not be the full extent.Available academic research on prostitution highlights the challenges in estimating prevalence. Research conducted by the University of Bristol focusing on England and Wales was unable to identify a single prevalence estimate. However, it assessed a number of existing national estimates made over the last 20 years which ranged from 35,882 to 104,964, across England and Wales.Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

What support her Department is providing to help victims of sexual exploitation in Edinburgh North and Leith constituency exit prostitution.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers to deliver this.The criminal justice system and support for victims are devolved matters. However, given the cross-border nature of sexual exploitation, the Home Office works closely with the Scottish Government and law enforcement partners to ensure our approach to victim identification and support, and our pursuit of perpetrators is joined up.We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Edinburgh North and Leith. However, between January and June 2024, there were 13 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in the City of Edinburgh. We understand this will not be the full extent.Available academic research on prostitution highlights the challenges in estimating prevalence. Research conducted by the University of Bristol focusing on England and Wales was unable to identify a single prevalence estimate. However, it assessed a number of existing national estimates made over the last 20 years which ranged from 35,882 to 104,964, across England and Wales.Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

What estimate she has made of the level of commercial sexual exploitation in Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has committed to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers to deliver this.The criminal justice system and support for victims are devolved matters. However, given the cross-border nature of sexual exploitation, the Home Office works closely with the Scottish Government and law enforcement partners to ensure our approach to victim identification and support, and our pursuit of perpetrators is joined up.We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Edinburgh North and Leith. However, between January and June 2024, there were 13 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in the City of Edinburgh. We understand this will not be the full extent.Available academic research on prostitution highlights the challenges in estimating prevalence. Research conducted by the University of Bristol focusing on England and Wales was unable to identify a single prevalence estimate. However, it assessed a number of existing national estimates made over the last 20 years which ranged from 35,882 to 104,964, across England and Wales.Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle pornography harms.

Under the Online Safety Act, all in-scope services that allow pornography must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children accessing it, including user-to-user services and services which publish pornography. Under the Act, platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography.Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin, will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his oral statement of 2 September 2024 on Middle East Update, Official Report, column 37, whether his Department has undertaken a further review of export licenses.

Export licence applications continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Following our review into Israel's compliance with IHL in Gaza, this Government has concluded that a clear risk does exist, and we have suspended certain export licences for items that could be used in the current conflict in Gaza.

What recent discussions he has had with representatives in the energy sector on the development of an offshore energy passport.

The Secretary of State welcomes the delivery of an industry-led Skills Passport. This is an important step to help workers transition from carbon-intensive industries to new clean energy sectors as part of the Government's clean energy mission 2030.

What plans she has for the reporting to Parliament of the work of the Council of Nations and Regions.

The inaugural Council of the Nations and Regions met on 11 October in Edinburgh to discuss growth and investment.The UK Government will be publishing the Terms of Reference for the Council and a communique summarising the discussion shortly.A communique will be published following each meeting of the Council.