I thank my hon. Friend for her work in this area. The issues that she raises are of direct importance to intelligence gathering

and child protection. My officials have been working closely with Border Force to ensure that its powers keep pace with the digital age. When the next legislative opportunity arises, if not before, we will carefully consider giving Border Force powers to compel individuals to submit to searches of their devices, if they are suspected of holding child sexual abuse material.

The Government is committed to tackling forced marriage. On 27 February 2023, we brought into force legislation which raised the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales to 18, and expanded the offence of forced marriage so it is illegal to do anything to cause a child to marry before they turn 18, even if coercion is not used.

The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has been actively raising awareness of the new forced marriage legislation in all its presentations and across its social media platforms since January 2023.

The FMU runs regular workshops and presentations for police officers, social workers, local authorities, registrars and others. In 2022, the FMU delivered training to 1,537 professionals and the unit has reached over 3,000 professionals by the end of September 2023. This includes bespoke training sessions on request to police forces. Over 650 police officers have been given this training since the legislation changed in February 2023. The Home Office also worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on HBA to ensure that forces were prepared for the commencement of the legislation. This included a joint national meeting with relevant force leads and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) before the legislation came into force.

While the Home Office does not directly hold data on safeguarding measures introduced by police forces to help ensure that suspected child marriage cases are managed adequately, we do work closely with the dedicated NPCC lead for Honour Based Abuse to ensure forces have the support they need. In addition, the College of Policing published authorised professional practice guidance for officers on ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) which has been updated together with domestic abuse training and the Police Education Qualifications Framework to incorporate material about the new legislation.

Whilst there have not been dedicated meetings on this subject with Home Office Ministers and the DHSC and DfE Secretaries of State, Ministers do meet regularly to discuss matters of crime and safeguarding, with a dedicated VAWG Ministerial Steering Group taking place later this month.

The FMU is jointly funded by the Home Office and FCDO. It currently has six full time staff, two joint heads (one from each department) and four case workers. The Unit’s operating costs including staff time, outreach activity and casework are funded through the departmental budgets of its parent organisations.

Statistics on prosecutions and convictions for the new offence of arranging for a child to marry as part of the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Minimum Age) Act 2022 are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and are not currently available as the offence only came into force in February 2023. Statistics on the offence will be available in future publications of MoJ’s Criminal Justice System Statistics. The Government does not hold data on arrests or investigations for the offence. The FMU publishes annual statistics, including on the total number of cases per year, online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forced-marriage-unit-statistics.

The Government is committed to tackling forced marriage. On 27 February 2023, we brought into force legislation which raised the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales to 18, and expanded the offence of forced marriage so it is illegal to do anything to cause a child to marry before they turn 18, even if coercion is not used.

The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has been actively raising awareness of the new forced marriage legislation in all its presentations and across its social media platforms since January 2023.

The FMU runs regular workshops and presentations for police officers, social workers, local authorities, registrars and others. In 2022, the FMU delivered training to 1,537 professionals and the unit has reached over 3,000 professionals by the end of September 2023. This includes bespoke training sessions on request to police forces. Over 650 police officers have been given this training since the legislation changed in February 2023. The Home Office also worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on HBA to ensure that forces were prepared for the commencement of the legislation. This included a joint national meeting with relevant force leads and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) before the legislation came into force.

While the Home Office does not directly hold data on safeguarding measures introduced by police forces to help ensure that suspected child marriage cases are managed adequately, we do work closely with the dedicated NPCC lead for Honour Based Abuse to ensure forces have the support they need. In addition, the College of Policing published authorised professional practice guidance for officers on ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) which has been updated together with domestic abuse training and the Police Education Qualifications Framework to incorporate material about the new legislation.

Whilst there have not been dedicated meetings on this subject with Home Office Ministers and the DHSC and DfE Secretaries of State, Ministers do meet regularly to discuss matters of crime and safeguarding, with a dedicated VAWG Ministerial Steering Group taking place later this month.

The FMU is jointly funded by the Home Office and FCDO. It currently has six full time staff, two joint heads (one from each department) and four case workers. The Unit’s operating costs including staff time, outreach activity and casework are funded through the departmental budgets of its parent organisations.

Statistics on prosecutions and convictions for the new offence of arranging for a child to marry as part of the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Minimum Age) Act 2022 are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and are not currently available as the offence only came into force in February 2023. Statistics on the offence will be available in future publications of MoJ’s Criminal Justice System Statistics. The Government does not hold data on arrests or investigations for the offence. The FMU publishes annual statistics, including on the total number of cases per year, online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forced-marriage-unit-statistics.

The Government is committed to tackling forced marriage. On 27 February 2023, we brought into force legislation which raised the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales to 18, and expanded the offence of forced marriage so it is illegal to do anything to cause a child to marry before they turn 18, even if coercion is not used.

The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has been actively raising awareness of the new forced marriage legislation in all its presentations and across its social media platforms since January 2023.

The FMU runs regular workshops and presentations for police officers, social workers, local authorities, registrars and others. In 2022, the FMU delivered training to 1,537 professionals and the unit has reached over 3,000 professionals by the end of September 2023. This includes bespoke training sessions on request to police forces. Over 650 police officers have been given this training since the legislation changed in February 2023. The Home Office also worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on HBA to ensure that forces were prepared for the commencement of the legislation. This included a joint national meeting with relevant force leads and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) before the legislation came into force.

While the Home Office does not directly hold data on safeguarding measures introduced by police forces to help ensure that suspected child marriage cases are managed adequately, we do work closely with the dedicated NPCC lead for Honour Based Abuse to ensure forces have the support they need. In addition, the College of Policing published authorised professional practice guidance for officers on ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) which has been updated together with domestic abuse training and the Police Education Qualifications Framework to incorporate material about the new legislation.

Whilst there have not been dedicated meetings on this subject with Home Office Ministers and the DHSC and DfE Secretaries of State, Ministers do meet regularly to discuss matters of crime and safeguarding, with a dedicated VAWG Ministerial Steering Group taking place later this month.

The FMU is jointly funded by the Home Office and FCDO. It currently has six full time staff, two joint heads (one from each department) and four case workers. The Unit’s operating costs including staff time, outreach activity and casework are funded through the departmental budgets of its parent organisations.

Statistics on prosecutions and convictions for the new offence of arranging for a child to marry as part of the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Minimum Age) Act 2022 are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and are not currently available as the offence only came into force in February 2023. Statistics on the offence will be available in future publications of MoJ’s Criminal Justice System Statistics. The Government does not hold data on arrests or investigations for the offence. The FMU publishes annual statistics, including on the total number of cases per year, online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forced-marriage-unit-statistics.

The Government is committed to tackling forced marriage. On 27 February 2023, we brought into force legislation which raised the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales to 18, and expanded the offence of forced marriage so it is illegal to do anything to cause a child to marry before they turn 18, even if coercion is not used.

The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has been actively raising awareness of the new forced marriage legislation in all its presentations and across its social media platforms since January 2023.

The FMU runs regular workshops and presentations for police officers, social workers, local authorities, registrars and others. In 2022, the FMU delivered training to 1,537 professionals and the unit has reached over 3,000 professionals by the end of September 2023. This includes bespoke training sessions on request to police forces. Over 650 police officers have been given this training since the legislation changed in February 2023. The Home Office also worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on HBA to ensure that forces were prepared for the commencement of the legislation. This included a joint national meeting with relevant force leads and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) before the legislation came into force.

While the Home Office does not directly hold data on safeguarding measures introduced by police forces to help ensure that suspected child marriage cases are managed adequately, we do work closely with the dedicated NPCC lead for Honour Based Abuse to ensure forces have the support they need. In addition, the College of Policing published authorised professional practice guidance for officers on ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) which has been updated together with domestic abuse training and the Police Education Qualifications Framework to incorporate material about the new legislation.

Whilst there have not been dedicated meetings on this subject with Home Office Ministers and the DHSC and DfE Secretaries of State, Ministers do meet regularly to discuss matters of crime and safeguarding, with a dedicated VAWG Ministerial Steering Group taking place later this month.

The FMU is jointly funded by the Home Office and FCDO. It currently has six full time staff, two joint heads (one from each department) and four case workers. The Unit’s operating costs including staff time, outreach activity and casework are funded through the departmental budgets of its parent organisations.

Statistics on prosecutions and convictions for the new offence of arranging for a child to marry as part of the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Minimum Age) Act 2022 are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and are not currently available as the offence only came into force in February 2023. Statistics on the offence will be available in future publications of MoJ’s Criminal Justice System Statistics. The Government does not hold data on arrests or investigations for the offence. The FMU publishes annual statistics, including on the total number of cases per year, online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forced-marriage-unit-statistics.

The Government is looking at the impact of disposable barbecues, as part of a research project led by Defra. Depending on the evidence, we will of course examine appropriate responses.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight that. A great deal of work has taken place with specialist domestic abuse organisations, particularly those that offer bilingual services. A wide-ranging awareness campaign has been launched, the “You are not alone” campaign, which signposts victims to the specific practical

support that they need. We have provided £2 million to bolster those services. That is for helplines, and to help organisations to bolster their own technological capacity and provide direct practical skills to ensure that victims remain protected.

My hon. Friend has rather demonstrated the paradox in age legislation in our country. I take some comfort from the fact that marriages under the age of 18 are on the decline in this country. We know that that is sadly not the case elsewhere in the world, but I am happy to work with her and other Members from across the House on this difficult and thorny but important topic.

I am very much aware of that. Forced marriage is of course a terrible form of abuse. The Government have introduced a range of measures to tackle the crime, including the creation of a specific forced marriage offence and the criminalisation of the breach of a forced marriage protection order. My hon. Friend raised the important issue of under-18 marriages. It is right that we consider our position, which is under review.

This Government are determined to stamp out the abhorrent crime of modern slavery. The Modern Slavery Bill will give law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery, and enhance support and protection for victims. We will shortly publish our modern slavery strategy setting out wider work to tackle these terrible crimes. I was pleased to announce on Thursday the appointment of Kevin Hyland as designate independent anti-slavery commissioner.

I absolutely agree that dealing with this crime is about more than action by Government. That is why I am pleased that we have introduced into the Modern Slavery Bill a clause that requires larger businesses to show what they are doing to ensure that slavery is not taking place in their supply chains. We must all work together on this issue. I am pleased that we have been able to introduce that amendment, and I am sure that it will be supported throughout this House.