Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kerry McCarthy and Ellie Reeves

Thursday 4th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and I commend the work of Kaleidoscopic UK in his constituency—I know how hard many organisations are working to tackle these issues. The Government are committed to rolling out child-focused courts nationally in the next three years, and we are investing £17 million to fund the next expansion, but I will happily pass his comments on to my colleagues in the Ministry of Justice who specifically deal with the issue of family courts.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

The first time I met the Prime Minister was when, as Director of Public Prosecutions, he came to Parliament to meet a group of MPs to outline his 10-point plan for tackling female genital mutilation. Since then there have been hundreds of reports of FGM cases but very few prosecutions. What is the Solicitor General doing, whether through prosecutions or a multi-agency approach, to try to rescue young girls from this horrific mutilation?

[The Solicitor General]

I thank my hon. Friend for her really important question. There have been three successful prosecutions for FGM in this country, but that is not good enough. Last month I hosted the first ever FGM summit, bringing together colleagues across Government to discuss how we can tackle FGM by working not just with the justice system, but with health, education, communities and local government. It is really important that we tackle FGM. It is a form of violence against women and girls, and it must be stopped.