Oral Answers to Questions

Carla Lockhart Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

Lord Timpson and I are looking at this issue in the round. We are ensuring that where prisons have education contracts, they are being given full effect, which often is not the case. My hon. Friend raises an important point. We are working on it, and we will keep her informed.

[Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

While it would be inappropriate to speak of a live case, I am mindful of the McNally family from my constituency, who are currently sitting through the trial of a man accused of murdering their daughter—truly heartbreaking. There was another murder in County Fermanagh recently. This demonstrates how unsafe society is for women, particularly with social media and online abuse. Will the Minister outline what efforts she is making with online platforms to do more?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank the hon. Lady for bringing that horrific case to the attention of the House. She is right to draw attention to the impact of social media and online abuse on violence against women and girls. It is why we are working across jurisdictions to try to tackle some of these crimes. We are bringing in the strongest protections against non-consensual intimate imagery, and we are working through the Online Safety Act 2023 and with our regulator, Ofcom, to hold social media accounts accountable. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology recently held a roundtable with the platforms to discuss what more we can do to tackle this heinous abuse. The Government have been clear: where the platforms refuse to act, the Government will.