Baby A died in Bronzefield women’s prison in 2019. Mum called for help time and time again, and no one came. She had to bite through her umbilical cord as her baby died. Baby A’s mother had not been convicted of any crime; she was there on remand. She and her baby were in a place that should have kept them safe, but the prison system is not keeping our women safe. Self-harm among women prisoners has increased by nearly half in three months. Many are self-harming over and over again. This House knows what needs to be done. The Minister knows what needs to be done. There is even a female offender strategy. When are this Government going to do it?

There is no centrally held data on the number of children remanded for their own protection and the requested information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government and we are committed to taking action to improve protections for the victims of domestic abuse.

Earlier this year we passed the landmark Domestic Abuse Act which will bolster the response to domestic abuse on every level. The Act will provide further protections to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthen measures to bring perpetrators to justice, as well as transform the support we give to victims, ensuring they have the protection they deserve. For the first time in history there will be a general purpose legal definition of domestic abuse which incorporates a range of abuses beyond physical violence, including emotional, coercive or controlling, and economic abuse.

In addition, we recently published a new Tackling VAWG Strategy which sets out our commitment to working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to appoint a National Policing Lead on VAWG who will work to transform the way policing responds to these crimes and ensure effective coordination nationally. The new lead will report on progress to the Home Secretary-chaired National Policing Board.

The Strategy also includes commitments to: launch a communication campaign with a focus on targeting perpetrators and harmful misogynistic attitudes, educating young people about healthy relationships and ensuring victims can access support; provide a £5 Million ‘Safety of Women at Night’ fund, and work across Government to improve data, and in turn improve understanding, of these crimes.

We are considering the findings and recommendations of this report and will work closely with the College of Policing, National Police Chiefs’ Council, HMICFRS and VAWG stakeholders to ensure officers understand all the protective measures available to them.

We are determined to roll up county lines and protect vulnerable children from this harmful form of exploitation.

Through our £25m county lines programme we have already seen 3,400 people arrested, more than 550 lines closed and more than 770 vulnerable people safeguarded.

We have also increased investment in dedicated one-to-one support for county lines victims and their families.

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to group this question with question 31.

We are determined to roll up county lines and protect vulnerable children from this harmful form of exploitation.

Through our £25m county lines programme we have already seen 3,400 people arrested, more than 550 lines closed and more than 770 vulnerable people safeguarded.

We have also increased investment in dedicated one-to-one support for county lines victims and their families.

Stalking is a terrible, insidious crime that can have a devastating impact on victims’ wellbeing. This Government is committed to protecting and supporting victims and is determined to do everything we can to stop perpetrators at the earliest opportunity.

The Government has significantly strengthened the law to improve protection for victims of stalking. In 2012 we created two stalking offences to highlight stalking as a specific behaviour and through the Policing and Crime Act 2017 the maximum sentence for the offence of stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress was raised from five to ten years’ imprisonment.

In January 2020 we introduced new civil Stalking Protection Orders. These enable early police intervention, pre-conviction, to address stalking behaviours before they become deep-rooted or escalate. Stalking Protection Orders can be used in relation to any type of stalking and have the flexibility to impose both restrictions and positive requirements on the perpetrator. A breach of this order has a criminal penalty, carrying a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

This Government is committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and ensuring that all victims, including children, are provided with the support they need.

Where children are found to be potential victims of human trafficking or modern slavery, including child criminal exploitation, their safety and welfare are addressed as a priority. Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, including child victims of modern slavery. Local children's services will work in close co-operation with the police and other statutory agencies to offer potentially trafficked children the protection and support they require.

In addition to this statutory support, the Government has rolled out Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) who provide an additional source of advice and support for all potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality, and somebody who can advocate on their behalf. The ICTG service is currently available in one third of local authorities in England and Wales. To ensure the correct ICTG model is rolled out, a staggered approach has been adopted with built in evaluations along the way, the evaluation of the ICTG early adopter sites can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-evaluation-of-independent-child-trafficking-guardians-early-adopter-sites-final-report

The Government is continuing the roll out of ICTGs as part of the NRM Transformation Programme, focused on the areas of highest need.

As part of the Government’s efforts to strengthen the support provided to child victims, we will shortly begin piloting a devolved model of National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision-making for children. These pilots will utilise established safeguarding procedures and the existing forums available to local authorities and their safeguarding partners to take decisions about whether children are victims of modern slavery. These pilots will test whether this model can bring decision making, the provision of support, and the law enforcement response into closer alignment. We are keen to understand whether this devolved approach to decision making will also improve local understanding of modern slavery and the needs of child victims to deliver a more holistic approach to identification and support. The pilots will be subject to a robust evaluation.

Finally, the Home Office continues to work with First Responders to ensure they understand the indicators of different exploitation types and can refer children into appropriate support. That is why, in July 2020, we released an E-Learning module available to all First Responders to improve their understanding of their responsibilities and the support available.

The Government takes child criminal exploitation extremely seriously and is determined to tackle it. Last year we published a Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit to help the police and other frontline safeguarding professionals understand and access tools to target the sexual and criminal exploitation of children and young people. We have also published specific guidance on county lines which provides advice on how to recognise the signs and respond appropriately so victims get the help and support they need.

We continue to work across government to identify further opportunities to strengthen and improve the response to child criminal exploitation, including regular meetings with frontline youth workers and charities to listen to their experiences. As part of this work we are examining the recommendations and learning from HMICFRS report ‘Both sides of the coin’ and the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report ‘It was Hard to Escape’, as well as those from other safeguarding reviews relating to child criminal exploitation.

We also continue to invest in support for children and young people who are criminally exploited. This includes £860,000 this year to expand specialist one-to-one support for victims of county lines exploitation in London, the West Midlands and Merseyside. Additionally, through the Trusted Relationships Fund we are identifying innovative approaches to tackling vulnerability among children and young people at risk of exploitation including child criminal exploitation, by fostering healthy, trusting relationships with responsible adults.

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on protecting women attending abortion clinics from intimidation or protest.

That is a very encouraging reply. Right now, up and down the country, women are being intimidated and police are having their time taken up by 40 Days for Life, an anti-choice group that is running a 40-day protest outside clinics. France, Australia and Canada have legislation on this. I am encouraged by what the Minister says. Will she please follow suit and take heed of the Demonstrations (Abortion Clinics) Bill, which I introduced in June? There is overwhelming support in the House for us to do the same here.

The Government are clear that it is unacceptable that women seeking or staff providing healthcare advice should feel intimidated or harassed. The Home Office has been keeping this important matter under review. We are now considering again whether more should be done to protect those accessing or providing abortion services, and we have reached out to service providers and the police to understand their experiences of these protests, but the impact on women is of course at the centre of our considerations.

County lines drug trafficking is a growing threat and one that this Government is determined to tackle. A cross-government approach is essential to identify and support children and young people who are criminally exploited by these ruthless gangs.

We are working across government to enhance the response to children and young people who are subject to criminal exploitation from county lines. Through our county lines programme, the Home Office is investing £860,000 this financial year to provide specialist one-to-one support for children and young people who at risk or involved in county lines. We are also working in collaboration with other government departments to monitor and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on county lines activity and exploitation.

We are also committed to taking forward national learning and are working with the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Health and Social Care to examine the recommendations from the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report ‘It was Hard to Escape’, as well as those from other safeguarding reviews relating to child criminal exploitation, in order to identify areas for improvement, put in place support for vulnerable children, raise awareness of criminal exploitation from county lines and ensure that the criminal justice response to county lines is as effective and robust as possible.

The Government is committed to meeting the needs of vulnerable victims and witnesses. It provides the Witness Intermediary Scheme to assist those with communication difficulties, including victims of child abuse.

The majority of requests for Registered Intermediaries (RIs) - a communications specialist who helps witnesses with communication difficulties - concern the assistance of children.

In 2019, RIs assisted more than 4,500 children, 560 of whom were less than 5 years old.

We are aware that victims of domestic abuse may feel particularly vulnerable at this time. We have published information for victims on gov.uk: www.gov.uk/domestic-abuse

The Government also launched the #YouAreNotAlone awareness raising campaign to signpost support available to victims of domestic abuse during lockdown. The campaign was launched by the Home Secretary at a nationally televised No.10 press briefing on 11th April.

The campaign channels are predominantly online to reach victims in their homes. The campaign has included activity to reach diverse audiences via advertising and editorial opportunities on specialist radio, print and TV outlets including their online and social channels, and social media support from relevant influencers, celebrities and community organisations. The campaign materials have been translated into 16 priority languages and shared with partners. including via social media.

The Home Office also regularly posts content on its social media channels related to domestic abuse support, including signposting people to the gov.uk page and the DA helpline as well as informing people about the forms domestic abuse can take.

Last year, the Government successfully rolled out Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) to one third of local authorities in England and Wales.

The next ICTG evaluation, which will have a particular focus on the role and impact of the Regional Practice Co-ordinator, is due to be published later in the year.

The continued national roll-out of ICTGs will be progressed as part of the recently established NRM Transformation Programme, which is designed to make sure we have a system that effectively identifies and delivers needs-based support for child and adult victims of modern slavery, is legally robust, sustainable and resilient to misuse. We will continue to review how the needs of individual children are best met at local level through the programme.

Domestic abuse is a horrific crime that shatters the lives of those affected. The Home Office works closely with the domestic abuse organisations, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the police, to ensure that support is available to victims who need it and that perpetrators are brought to justice.

Since 2018 the Home Office has provided £1.1m per year to help fund specialist helplines offering support in domestic abuse, honour-based abuse and stalking cases. A national awareness raising campaign has been launched to help direct victims to these sources of support.

A further £3.1m has been provided this year, as a continuation of the Children Affected by Domestic abuse fund for specialist support for children affected by domestic abuse.

Work is also underway to enhance perpetrator programmes and promote innovative approaches to preventing domestic abuse using £10m of funding.

We are continuing with the passage of the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, which started its Committee Stage on 4 June. This will further protect victims of domestic abuse and bring perpetrators to justice.

We are acutely aware that the necessary guidelines about social distancing and self-isolation may leave the victims of hidden crime, such as child sexual abuse, feeling especially vulnerable. For some children, home is not the safe-haven it should be, and more time spent online means children may be at increased risk of online harms.

We have responded swiftly to the risks posed by COVID-19, working closely with Law Enforcement, the UK Intelligence Community, safeguarding partners and the third sector to assess the threat and ensure they have the resources they need to tackle offending and provide the greatest protection for vulnerable children.

We are further working across government and agencies to ensure that teachers, parents and carers have access to the support they need to help keep children safe online. As part of this the National Crime Agency have launched the #OnlineSafetyAtHome campaign, the Department for Education has published interim safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges encouraging them to disseminate advice on online safety and we have published guidance for parents and carers on gov.uk.

As part of this the Government made £1.6 million available immediately for the NSPCC to expand and promote its national helpline for adults. We also worked across government, with the NCA and industry to ensure that teachers, parents and carers have access to the support they need to help keep children safe online.

On 21st May, the Prime Minister hosted a virtual summit focused on ‘hidden harms’, including child sexual abuse. The virtual summit brought key decision makers together to share insight, best practice and agree an approach for tackling these crimes as we move towards easing lockdown measures.

Ahead of the summit, the Home Secretary announced that £9.86 million is being allocated to the National Crime Agency to improve its ability to tackle perpetrators seeking to offend against children via the Dark Web. An additional £3.36 million is being committed to further improve our understanding and tackle all aspects of the child sexual abuse threat. We will also launch a £2.8 million transformation fund to promote and embed best practice in Child Sexual Abuse victim support.

Following the Summit, we have sought to engage stakeholders within communities who could support in identifying vulnerable children, by delivering communications that highlight how to spot the signs of abuse and neglect, as well as where to report concerns. The aim is to improve our collective ability to detect and respond to a range harms, including at home.

The Home Office will distribute £7.8 million in emergency support for charities helping vulnerable children who have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. We are working closely with other government departments to identify an approach for disbursing the proportion of the £360 million charities funding allocated directly from government departments to vulnerable children’s charities, with the aim to implement the approach as soon as possible.