Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that magistrates receive training on (a) coercive control and (b) the longer-term impacts of domestic abuse; and whether any similar training is planned for the future.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

To preserve judicial independence, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lady Chief Justice has the statutory responsibility for the training of the courts judiciary in England and Wales, fulfilled by the Judicial College.

Domestic abuse is a significant element of initial and ongoing training for magistrates and legal advisers. All magistrates complete induction training on appointment and when authorised in new jurisdictions, before they undertake sittings. Regular continuation training in relation to domestic abuse, in all its forms, is provided thereafter. Magistrates sitting in the family and criminal jurisdictions receive mandatory domestic abuse training. The training is trauma-informed and reflects the wide nature of domestic abuse including coercive and controlling behaviour.

The College regularly reviews its training to ensure it remains high quality and up to date, and reflects contemporary law, practice and procedure.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to strengthen trauma-informed training for police officers responding to domestic abuse cases.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

In our manifesto, we committed to strengthening training on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) for policing to ensure that all officers have the right skills to investigate all VAWG offences, included domestic abuse, and provide consistent support for victims.

The Home Office has already invested £13.1 million this year into the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). This funding includes an uplift of nearly £2 million to deliver a robust package of training improvements.

Launched in April 2025, the NCVPP provides coordinated leadership within policing to drive up operational standards and skills across all 43 forces in their response to VAWG crimes.

Through the NCVPP, we are working closely with the College of Policing to develop strengthened, specialist training for officers across all operational levels - frontline, specialist, and leadership.

Grounded in academic research and behaviour change science, new training programmes will prioritise trauma-informed learning to ensure that all officers are well equipped to manage VAWG offenders and provide support to victims.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider adding cheerleading as an approved (a) sport and (b) activity which can be assessed for GCSE Physical Education qualifications.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Cheerleading was recognised as a sport by the Home Nations Sport Councils in December last year.

It is not part of the current GCSE activity list, which was last reviewed in 2018. The department and awarding organisations developed a set of five key considerations which were applied to each activity in order to ensure parity and rigour of assessment.

The government launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review for ages 5 to 18, led by Professor Becky Francis CBE. As part of this review, curriculum and assessment arrangements are being evaluated, including the full range of national curriculum subjects and most GCSEs. This will address the key barriers to pupil achievement and ensure all young people have access to high standards and future opportunities. The department is currently awaiting the outcomes of the Review.