Oral Answers to Questions

Jess Phillips Excerpts

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

On the point of asylum policy, the Liberal Democrats recently defeated an attempt by the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), backed vociferously by the Conservatives, who he is trying to kill, to rip this country out of the ECHR.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)]

Metaphorically.

[Max Wilkinson]

Metaphorically trying to kill, yes.

Leaving the ECHR would do nothing to halt small boat crossings but it would deny British people hard-won rights: free speech, the Hillsborough inquiry and protections for older people. The Government have announced that they are reviewing certain articles of the ECHR—the Home Secretary has just referenced it. Can she give us a cast-iron guarantee that when she is working on these changes, she will do so in partnership with other signatories to the convention and will not follow the Conservatives and Reform in seeking to isolate this country on the international stage?

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[Gurinder Singh Josan (Smethwick) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)]

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government, and our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade has begun. We will deliver a transformative cross-Government approach that is underpinned by the new strategy, which we will publish soon.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

Ending the presumption of parental contact in the family courts was a huge and long-overdue step that campaigners work hard for. That presumption often allowed post-separation abuse to continue. Although the Ministry of Justice is leading on that, can the Minister tell me what the Home Office is doing to make sure that we properly police and enforce other ways of tackling post-separation abuse so that it cannot continue?

[Jess Phillips]

I thank and give special mention to my hon. Friend and to my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Dr Tidball), who have worked tirelessly since they arrived in the House to join some of us who had been trying to get the Conservatives to change the presumption of contact in domestic abuse cases for 11 years—with no success. I work closely with the Victims Minister and with the Minister for Courts and Legal Services, and we will be making sure that this matter is part of a cross-Government package of security.

[Tulip Siddiq]

My constituent contacted me because she had been drugged and violently raped by a man she knew; she had worked for him, as a nanny to his children. She described this man as a high net-worth individual. Despite providing detailed evidence to the police, she said that ultimately it came down to her word against his, and she feels that his financial standing and influence meant that her case never went to the Crown Prosecution Service. The Minister will know very well that less than 4% of rape allegations result in summons or charge. At what point are we going to stop talking about how unfair the system is and actually do something that means that poor constituents like mine get the justice they deserve?

[Jess Phillips]

I would be happy to speak to my hon. Friend and her constituent about that case; I have heard similar cases with regard to high-worth, powerful rapists or alleged rapists. It is vital that we undertake a proper change to how our policing and justice system works for rape victims, whether through Operation Soteria or other interventions such as the new national centre for VAWG; we need to improve the situation across the country, not just see pockets of good practice. It is going to take time, but I am more than happy to work with her on that.

[Gurinder Singh Josan]

The Minister will be aware of the important role played by specialist “by and for” organisations in supporting victims from minority communities and bringing crucial cultural awareness to the table. Sikh Women’s Aid recently held an all-women’s meeting in which it focused on the trauma and fear generated by recent racially aggravated attacks in the west midlands, including in my constituency. Will the Minister outline what steps the Home Office is taking to ensure that specialist community support services, including “by and for” organisations such as Sikh Women’s Aid, are properly resourced so that victims from all backgrounds—whether white working-class girls or Sikh women and girls—can receive culturally-sensitive support?

[Jess Phillips]

We recognise the vital role of specialist “by and for” services in providing tailored support to victims and survivors. It has been my personal pleasure over many years to work alongside the brilliant women at Sikh Women’s Aid, who operate so furtively in our local area. I meet regularly with Imkaan, the umbrella lead for such “by and for” services, to seek solutions to exactly the problem of ensuring that there is not a postcode lottery and that everybody can have specialist support.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee.

[Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

I very much look forward to the new violence against women and girls strategy. Can the Minister give us a bit more of a clue as to when we might see it? Will it include a single definition of violence against women and girls that is applied consistently across law enforcement and the Department?

[Jess Phillips]

I very much look forward, no doubt, to coming to the right hon. Lady’s Committee to discuss the strategy on its publication. It is not for the Home Office to tell law enforcement exactly what the definition is in this regard—there are obviously definitions of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the law—but we will lay out clearly what we mean by “violence against women and girls”, and police operational matters will be corralled, like I say, by the new centre, which has had £13 million of investment to ensure that there is standardised practice across the country and we are all singing from the same hymn sheet.

[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

The Government are right to abolish the role of police and crime commissioner—the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for that for some time—but many victims’ organisations rely on the PCC core grant to fund initiatives that address violence against women. Will the Minister confirm that that cash will not be lost by those organisations, including mine in Eastbourne, and that they will retain it after the reform?

[Jess Phillips]

I can absolutely confirm that the part of the police and crime commissioners’ role that involves commissioning local victims’ services will be brought into the new system. It will not be that that money is gone from the centre; this is about how it will be given out. I cannot say for certain that all organisations that currently have that money will have it on the basis that they currently have it, because nobody could commit to that. That is the commissioner’s job. We look forward to the violence against women and girls strategy, because there will be a huge amount on victims’ commissioning in that.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

My constituent Fiona from Milborne Port is a victim of historical rape. With recent reporting highlighting the vile attitudes of some in regard to historical rape victims, Fiona has told me that her confidence in the judicial system and the police has been well and truly knocked, and detectives have told her that there is no starting point for their inquiries. What steps is the Minister taking, along with Cabinet colleagues, to support historical victims of violence against women and girls?

[Jess Phillips]

There is absolutely no reason why historical cases should not be brought forward and reviewed. As part of the work following on from the Casey review—certainly in cases of historical child sexual abuse—the opening of “no further action” cases has been worked on at pace through Operation Beaconport. More broadly, there are review systems, and I will send the hon. Member information about the organisations that the Home Office works with and that work alongside the police to look into the review systems that might be needed for people in cases such as hers and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Tulip Siddiq) that have not been picked up.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)]

In March this year, the then permanent secretary of the Home Office said that the strategy to tackle violence against women and girls would be published before the summer recess. In July, the Minister committed to September. My hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns) wrote to the Minister six weeks ago to ask for an update and has yet to receive a response. We would all like to see progress in halving violence against women and girls. Commenting on the delay, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, has said:

“I fail to see where the momentum within government is coming from to ensure this commitment succeeds.”

What does the Minister make of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s words, and can she please reiterate her commitment to publish the strategy before the end of the year?

[Jess Phillips]

As somebody who meets the Domestic Abuse Commissioner on a very regular basis, I cannot say that she would ever say that I did not have the enthusiasm to make this work—but perhaps I am wrong. I shall ask her what she meant by those comments. What I absolutely can say is that the strategy will come; it will be out very soon. It will be out when it is the best it can be, but we do not need to wait for a piece of paper to start our action. I will not take up too much time going through the list of about 13 things that we have already changed in the last 18 months, such as Raneem’s law or the roll-out of domestic abuse protection orders, which for four years—

[Mr Speaker]

Order—we do not need to go through the whole list.

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[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

10. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the remit of the national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs to include Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)]

The national inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse will mirror the Casey audit, and therefore cover England and Wales. That said, all parts of the UK must work together to protect children and bring perpetrators to justice. We have committed to sharing relevant findings with devolved Administrations and are considering how the inquiry’s work may interact with devolved responsibilities in Scotland, including cross-area trafficking concerns.

[John Lamont]

Last week, brave grooming-gang survivor Fiona Goddard spoke of how she was trafficked to Scotland as a vulnerable teenager. As she rightly said, the idea that this issue stops at the border is “insane”. Despite clear evidence from victims about grooming gangs operating in Scotland, the SNP Government in Edinburgh still refuse to hold an inquiry. [Interruption.] Will the Minister please listen to victims and campaigners and extend the national inquiry to Scotland, so that we can ensure that young girls and teenagers are not treated in this way again?

[Jess Phillips]

I thank the hon. Gentleman—others are stating from a sedentary position that the SNP Government in Scotland have said something different. However, any information can be given to the inquiry. In the example that the hon. Gentleman gave, where people are trafficked into Scotland, that evidence can be given to the inquiry. But police, justice, education, children’s services and health are all devolved, which is different to the system in England and Wales, where just policing and justice are devolved. We have to ensure that we are working within frameworks where the recommendations can be fully taken, but we will work with all nations to make sure that the findings make things better in the future.

[Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)]

11. What steps she is taking to improve public access to police officers in Redditch constituency.

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[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

T2. I have been contacted by constituents concerned that a group calling itself Justice for Innocent Men in Scotland is allegedly harassing victims of sexual violence by undermining their anonymity. Will the Minister tell me what the UK Government are going to do to protect women across the UK from that sort of targeting and harassment?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this case with me, and I am happy to look into it in more detail. It is a fundamental principle that victims of sexual violence are entitled by law to anonymity, and breaching that anonymity is a crime. I am very interested to hear from her and to see how we can ensure that that is not happening.

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

T9.   The Home Secretary will be aware of the existing asset recovery incentivisation scheme, which uses seized criminal assets to fund enforcement agencies in their work to tackle economic crime. There are, however, concerns about the lumpy nature of the funding model, which can lead to wild variations in financial support year on year for the likes of the Crown Prosecution Service, local police forces and the Serious Fraud Office. Will the Minister therefore meet me to discuss the merits of introducing a ringfenced, multi-year funding pot for law enforcement agencies tackling economic crime?

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[Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)]

Crimes committed by grooming gangs are among the most horrific imaginable; victims feel the devastating impact for the rest of their life. Does the Minister therefore agree that the findings of the national inquiry into grooming gangs should be implemented without delay, that the victims must be kept at the heart of our response, and that their voices and experiences must lead the inquiry, so that some justice can finally be delivered for those impacted?

[Jess Phillips]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, and we are working urgently to establish the inquiry. Baroness Casey is supporting that work. She and I recently met some of the people my hon. Friend is talking about, and I look forward to updating the House.

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

The Home Office has requested transitional accommodation for asylum claimants, following the closure of Garats Hay in my constituency. However, neither Leicestershire county council nor Charnwood borough council has been consulted or received any additional funding for this extra burden. Why are these councils being bypassed, and will they get the funding that they need?