Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Sentencing Act 2020 to record crimes motivated by misogyny as hate crimes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no current plans to extend the Sentencing Act 2020 to include sex as an aggravating factor in the enhanced sentencing regime.
However, an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill has added sex to the list of protected characteristics under the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. When this provision has been implemented – offences listed in the Act motivated by hostility against someone’s sex or presumed sex can be charged as an aggravated offence and the courts will be able to impose a longer sentence on conviction beyond those provided for in the Sentencing Act 2020.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect the right to peaceful protest in Devon.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to protecting the right to peaceful protest, while ensuring public order legislation balances freedom of expression with protecting the public from serious disruption or harm.
Under the Public Order Act 1986, the police have the necessary powers to manage protests, and it is for individual forces to determine the most appropriate approach based on the specific context.
The Government is taking the Crime and Policing Bill through Parliament to equip police with targeted powers to manage evolving protest tactics while safeguarding public safety and the right to protest. The measures aim to protect the right to protest while keeping public spaces safe and accessible.
The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October 2025. It will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and upholding the right to lawful protest. Lord Ken Macdonald of River Glaven KC is leading the review and is expected to report its findings to the Home Secretary by the end of May.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that disabled children have access to social care support following the Law Commission's report on social care law; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing legal reform to achieve that objective.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of adequacy of the Law Commission's findings regarding regional variations in support for disabled children; and what steps her Department is taking to help ensure consistent entitlements for such children across all local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to consider the recommendations in the Law Commission's 2025 report on disabled children's social care; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of legislative reform alongside the rollout of the Family Help programme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing national eligibility criteria for disabled children's social care in England; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increased flexible working rights for workers in Devon.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are making changes through the Employment Rights Act to make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted.
The impacts of the Employment Rights Act have been assessed through a comprehensive package of published analysis. This includes an assessment of regional impacts, which is available here: Employment Rights Act 2025: economic analysis. In addition, this package features the Impact Assessment ‘Making flexible working the default’, available here: http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments
From 2027, employers will have to discuss challenges in accommodating requests with employees and consider alternative options, and, if they can’t agree an arrangement, to explain their reasoning.