Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls: Funding

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Lord Berkeley of Knighton

Monday 28th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness. I should not repeat myself, but the Government are currently developing a strategy on violence against women and girls. We are hoping to produce that during the summer at the very latest. We have increased the funding overall by some 36% to £102 million. We are looking at how that resource is allocated. No decisions were made this year because of the issues around the spending review to ensure that we can do exactly what the noble Baroness wants; that is, to ensure that organisations have stability, know what expenditures are coming downstream over a longer period, and are not left in the lurch in relation to a loss of services. We are in a period of flux, but the Government’s intention is extremely clear: to halve the level of violence against women and girls over a 10-year period, and the funding has been put in to begin that process this year.

[Lord Berkeley of Knighton (CB)]

My Lords, one of the reasons that some groups still think that young girls should be subjected to female genital mutilation is because they believe they are religiously instructed so to do. In fact, there is no foundation at all for this in the Koran and, therefore, one of the most important ways of combating FGM is through education. It is not just education about the Koran, but about the fact that people take children abroad to be cut as well as doing it here. One way to combat this is through those groups that are working in the educational field, some of which tell me that they find it very hard to access funding. Will the Minister look closely at that, because they will be doing the Government’s job in a certain way in trying to fight FGM?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful for the question. FGM is a crime: it should be recognised as a crime and prosecuted as a crime. The Government have put in place additional support at borders to ensure that we monitor individuals who may be taken abroad for FGM—which, again, is a crime—and we are planning additional resources and measures on that. The noble Lord is absolutely right that education and wider knowledge of that crime are extremely important. As he said, there is no religious basis for it; it is a crime, it should be treated as such and this Government will do that.

Female Genital Mutilation

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Lord Berkeley of Knighton

Tuesday 25th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Berkeley of Knighton]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of female genital mutilation nationally.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)]

Female genital mutilation is an abhorrent crime. The Home Office concluded a feasibility study in 2024 to examine how to produce robust prevalence estimates for FGM; we are now considering the next steps. We monitor data on FGM cases from the police, the National Health Service and the Ministry of Justice. Of the 2,755 honour-based abuse offences recorded by the police in the year ending March 2024, 111 were FGM related. However, the hidden nature of FGM can make it challenging to quantify.

[Lord Berkeley of Knighton (CB)]

I thank the noble Lord for that Answer. Although the biggest battle to eliminate FGM lies in sub-Saharan Africa, as the figures show, we cannot afford to be complacent in this country. Does the Minister agree that, although education is by far the best way to effect culture change, we still need the rule of law as a deterrent? Is the Minister at all concerned that between 2014 and 2024 we have had only two convictions for FGM? Furthermore, will the Home Office possibly agree to a request by Nimco Ali’s Five Foundation—she, of course, is a survivor—to update the 2014 estimate, thus informing policy going forward on ending FGM in the UK and helping signpost where survivors can get medical or psychological support?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord, who has a long history of tackling this issue in legislation and bringing it before the House. He deserves credit for the work he has done to date. He mentioned a couple of key issues. We agree that the prosecution rate needs to be examined. The College of Policing has recently sent out further authorised professional practice notes to police forces and we recently confirmed £13.1 million of funding for a new centre to tackle violence against women and girls, which will help look at a range of issues, of which FGM will be one. He is also right that we need to look at the prevalence of FGM. The feasibility study I mentioned in my initial Answer looks at how we can record and understand better the level of crime being committed. One of the key things we are doing is looking at that study and what needs to be undertaken. I and colleagues will bring forward measures to this House and to the House of Commons in due course, of which support for survivors is key.