Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group has provided a proposed new definition to them; and when they expect to report on that definition.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Working Group have now submitted their independent advice to Ministers who will take the time to review and consider the advice carefully before confirming next steps in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the introduction of telemedicine for first-trimester abortions on the number of criminal prosecutions in England and Wales over the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The offences that apply in cases of unlawful abortion are administering drugs to procure an abortion and procuring drugs to cause abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.
Publicly available Ministry of Justice statistics show the following number of prosecutions brought under those offences:
Proceeded against | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Procuring Illegal Abortion (Sections 58 & 59 Offences Against the Person Act 1861) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Child Destruction (Section 1 Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.
The available data does not specify how many of these prosecutions are linked to the use of telemedicine for early medical abortion. The Government has not made an assessment on the connection between the number of prosecutions for unlawful abortions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion.
The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the policy relating to telemedicine for early medical abortion.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of abortion decriminalisation on public confidence in the protection of unborn children and wider societal attitudes towards the value of life.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance, and parliamentarians individually decide whether and how they wish to vote.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential risks of decriminalising abortion to vulnerable women, including those who may be subject to coercion or abuse; and what safeguarding measures they plan to put in place to protect them.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place.
As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance, and parliamentarians individually decide whether and how they wish to vote.
The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.
The safeguarding of children, young people, and adults who are at risk is a fundamental obligation for everyone who works in the National Health Service and its partner agencies. If decriminalisation of abortion for pregnant women acting in relation to their own pregnancy becomes law, the Department will consider whether sufficient safeguards are already in place or whether additional guidance is needed.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to safeguard freedom of religion and belief in the context of new or updated hate crime and anti-discrimination definitions.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental human right. People are expected to express their views concerning religion and beliefs respectfully, acting within the confines of the law when providing criticism. This government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate religious hatred in any form.
Our approach to tackling religious hatred does not and would never inhibit free speech or override fundamental rights such as the right to freedom of religion and belief. Any definition of religious hatred that the Government has adopted or may choose to adopt would be non-statutory.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the decriminalisation of abortion upon the rights and responsibilities of medical professionals, including those with conscientious objections to participation in abortion procedures.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to their own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.
Under section 4(1) of the Abortion Act 1967, medical professionals have the right to refuse to participate in terminations of pregnancy, other than where the termination is necessary to save the life of, or prevent grave injury to, the pregnant woman. This right is limited to refusal to participate in the procedure or procedures themselves and not to pre- or post-treatment care, advice, or management.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential risks to vulnerable women, including those who may be subject to coercion or abuse, if abortion were to be decriminalised; and what safeguarding measures they plan to put in place to protect them.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows members of Parliament to vote according to their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.
The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to their own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.
The safeguarding of children, young people, and adults who are at risk is a fundamental obligation for everyone who works in the National Health Service and its partner agencies. Following the decriminalisation of abortion for pregnant women acting in relation to their own pregnancy, the Department will consider whether sufficient safeguards are already in place or whether additional guidance is needed.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of abortion decriminalisation on public confidence in the protection of unborn children and wider societal attitudes towards the value of life.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows members of Parliament to vote according to their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will legislate to reverse the effect of the judgment of the Supreme Court in R v Adams [2020] UKSC 19 to ensure that Gerry Adams is not entitled to receive public money due to his detention in the 1970s and to restore the doctrine created as a result of the judgment in Carltona v Commissioners of Works [1943] 2 All ER 560 under which a duly authorised official is able to take executive decisions on a Secretary of State's behalf.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The main issue here is the application of the Carltona principle in the context of Interim Custody Orders. The previous Government’s attempt to address this following the 2020 Supreme Court judgment in Adams has been found by the Northern Ireland courts to be incompatible with our international obligations and we need to find a better way of reaffirming this principle.
The Government is carefully exploring how to address this complex issue alongside our clear commitment to implement legacy mechanisms that are fully compliant with human rights, and will do so in upcoming Primary Legislation.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the report by KPMG Illicit cigarette consumption in Europe, published on 11 June, what steps they are taking towards countering illicit cigarette consumption and the rise of counterfeit and non-duty-paid goods entering the UK market.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has dedicated significant resource to tackling illicit tobacco and has set out its approach to doing so in successive strategies dating back to 2000. These strategies have been highly effective in reducing the estimated duty gap for cigarettes from 16.9% in 2005 to 10.5% in 2023/24 and for hand-rolling tobacco from 65.2% to 22.9% over the same period.
HMRC publishes annual data on seizures, criminal investigations and civil penalties related to tobacco. Between April 2023 and March 2024, HMRC and Border Force seized 1.36bn cigarettes and 92,435kg of hand-rolling tobacco.
In January 2024, HMRC and Border Force published the latest illicit tobacco strategy, ‘Stubbing Out the Problem’, setting out a continued commitment to reduce the trade in illicit tobacco with a focus on reducing demand, and to tackle and disrupt the organised crime groups behind the illicit tobacco trade. [1] The strategy was supported by £100 million of new smokefree funding over 5 years to boost existing HMRC and Border Force enforcement capability.
[1] Stubbing out the problem: A new strategy to tackle illicit tobacco - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)