Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle mobile phone theft in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) the UK.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together law enforcement and leading tech companies to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves.

The Summit resulted in clear commitments from attendees to work in partnership, including to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft, in order to build a comprehensive picture of the problem and the role of organised crime networks.

To aid police investigations and recovery of stolen goods, our Crime and Policing Bill also includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to those premises, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose.

Finally, we are committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing and through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we will place thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles, to provide a more visible and effective response to the activities of mobile phone thieves operating in our communities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the antisocial use of off-road bikes in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) the UK.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour involving vehicles is a key priority for this Government, and a central part of our Safer Streets Mission.

On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

This will allow the police to quickly remove the anti-social off-road bikes which blight our communities and send a clear message that their behaviour will not be tolerated.

However, enforcement of the law in Beckenham and Penge, including in relation to tackling antisocial use of off-road bikes, will remain an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve miscarriage care (a) in general and (b) for miscarriages occurring before 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that experiencing a miscarriage can be an extremely difficult time, and we are determined to make sure all women and babies receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, particularly when things go wrong. It is vital that women seeking support, including in early pregnancy, get the care they need.

We have launched the Baby Loss Certificate Service, which enables those who have experienced any pregnancy loss to record and receive a certificate to provide recognition of a baby loss, if they wish to do so. The Human Tissue Authority has also updated the guidance on the sensitive handling of pregnancy remains. We are continuing to work with NHS England to improve the Early Pregnancy Assessment Units’ services, by improving their availability and level of support. NHS England has also published a policy to support National Health Service employees and provide managers with advice on how to support people affected by baby loss, including paid leave.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that sports facilities funding will encourage broader participation in sports by under-represented communities in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) the UK.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises that sports facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.

The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities. On 21 March, we announced £100 million funding to be delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, supporting high-quality, inclusive facilities across the UK.

Projects are required to demonstrate how they increase access and participation levels among under-represented groups, which includes women and girls, ethnic minority groups and disabled players. From 2025/26, the Football Foundation will use learnings from the Lionesses Futures Fund to inform the minimum ‘Women and Girls’ criteria for all major capital projects, which includes reserved peak-time slots, women and girls only evenings and priority booking for women and girl’s teams.

Grassroots sport is also funded through the Government’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, who invest over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to sports facilities for disabled people in (a) Beckenham and Penge and (b) the UK.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone. The Government has announced a further £100 million in funding to deliver new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK. The Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme’s aims include regular, weekly use by under-represented groups, including disabled people, so that everyone has the opportunity to participate.

Sport England, the Government’s Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, is committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for disabled people and improving their access to sport facilities. Sport England runs specific initiatives like the 'We are Undefeatable' campaign, impacting directly on disabled people, and those with a long-term health condition. Sport England also has partnerships with organisations such as Disability Rights UK, Activity Alliance, Aspire, and Sense, to help more disabled people get active.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and supporting victims of domestic abuse.

Since 2021, local authorities in England have a duty under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure victims of domestic abuse and their children have access to support within safe accommodation. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government provides funding to local authorities to deliver this duty. For 2025-26, £160 million has been allocated, a £30 million uplift from the previous year. This revenue funding is for local authorities to commission lifesaving support for victims and their children within safe accommodation. Funding for 2026/27 onwards will be a matter for the Spending Review.

Statutory guidance to local authorities is available here providing further details on how the duty should be delivered.

The current Affordable Homes Programme for 2021-2026 includes capital funding for new supply of supported housing, including domestic abuse safe accommodation. At Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and contribute to our milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament, including for victims of domestic abuse.

Found: Hughes MP Business and Trade Callum Anderson MP Science, Innovation and Technology Liam Conlon