Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of whether "by and for" domestic abuse services achieve better outcomes for victims than other domestic abuse services.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed. To support delivery of this duty, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has committed £499 million over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29.
An independent three-year evaluation commissioned by MHCLG examined the implementation of this duty and found that specialist ‘by and for’ services can be particularly effective in meeting the support needs of some groups of survivors, particularly those from minoritised communities. The evaluation also found that areas which commissioned by and for services were better able to meet the needs of diverse groups of victims. Survivors who accessed these services reported valuing support from staff who understood their background, culture and experiences. A copy of the evaluation is available on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that disabled people who rely on assistance dogs, including psychiatric assistance dogs, are not subjected to harassment or unlawful exclusion when accessing shops and other public-facing businesses.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
No one should face discrimination, harassment or abuse because they are disabled or because they rely on an assistance dog. The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people, including people with assistance dogs, access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It has published guidance - ‘Assistance Dogs: a guide for businesses and service providers’ - to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners.
Duties and protections under the Equality Act are ultimately enforceable through the courts, and anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to seek to resolve the issue. The EHRC will support people who have experienced discrimination through that process.
This Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime, including those targeting disabled people, wherever they occur and whoever is responsible.
Where criminal offences are motivated by hostility towards disability, we expect the police to investigate robustly and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to bring offenders to justice.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff and other personnel are authorised to act as Victim Liaison Officers across England and Wales.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) employs Victim Liaison Officers to deliver the Victim Contact Scheme to eligible victims who choose to receive the services provided under the Scheme. Victim Liaison Officers keep victims informed of key stages in an offender’s sentence and support them to make representations about licence conditions, such as exclusion zones or non-contact requirements.
As of July 2026, HMPPS employed 315 Victim Liaison Officers across England and Wales.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what formal arrangements, protocols and guidance exist between the Research Information and Communications Unit, Counter Terrorism Policing, police communications teams and Victim Liaison Officers; and if she will publish any such documents.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
RICU provides analysis on terrorist use of propaganda and exploitation of the internet to inform the UK’s counter-terrorism system. All activity complies with relevant legislation. RICU works with range of partners across HMG to support the wider counter-terrorism mission, including Counter Terrorism Policing and relevant police teams.
No formal arrangements, protocols or guidance exists between RICU, Counter Terrorism Policing, police communications teams and Victim Liaison Officers.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what modes of transport are used to transfer asylum seekers between accommodation sites within the UK; and what expenditure was incurred on (a) air transport, (b) rail transport, (c) coach transport, (d) taxi transport, and (e) other transport in each year since 2019.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not report and hold data at this granularity and would only be obtainable at disproportionate cost. The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office annual report and accounts: 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) investigations and (b) cases have involved the deployment of Victim Liaison Officers in each year since 2019.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold centrally the information requested on investigations or cases that have involved the deployment of Victim Liaison Officers.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Flee Fund and Future Fund have been (a) received, (b) approved, and (c) rejected in each year since the schemes commenced; and what the sex of applicants and recipients was in each case.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Flexible Fund, delivered by Women’s Aid Federation England and a consortium of over 470 services, provides financial support to victims of domestic abuse to enable them to leave abusive situations or secure long-term stability, where their financial situation otherwise prevents that.
A breakdown of the number of applications received and accepted per year, as reported by Women's Aid Federation England, is provided below:
2025/26
Funding amount: £2.4m
Total applications received: 8031
Applications accepted: 3429
Sex of accepted applicants:
Female - 3317
Male – 85
Not provided – 27
2024/25
Funding amount: £2.69m
Total applications received: 4547
Applications accepted: 2560
Sex of accepted applicants:
Female - 2,423
Male - 95
Not provided - 42
2023/24
Funding amount: £1.350m
Total applications received: 1696
Applications accepted: 1561
Sex of accepted applicants:
Female – 1501
Male – 56
Not provided – 4
We do not collect information on the sex of applicants at the point of application. However, decisions on approval are not made based on application, but on a first come first serve basis, if the threshold for access is met.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Flee Fund and Future Fund in supporting survivors of domestic abuse to achieve long-term independence.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Flexible Fund, delivered by Women’s Aid Federation England and a consortium of over 470 services, provides financial support to victims of domestic abuse to enable them to leave abusive situations or secure long-term stability, where their financial situation otherwise prevents that.
A breakdown of the number of applications received and accepted per year, as reported by Women's Aid Federation England, is provided below:
2025/26
Funding amount: £2.4m
Total applications received: 8031
Applications accepted: 3429
Sex of accepted applicants:
Female - 3317
Male – 85
Not provided – 27
2024/25
Funding amount: £2.69m
Total applications received: 4547
Applications accepted: 2560
Sex of accepted applicants:
Female - 2,423
Male - 95
Not provided - 42
2023/24
Funding amount: £1.350m
Total applications received: 1696
Applications accepted: 1561
Sex of accepted applicants:
Female – 1501
Male – 56
Not provided – 4
We do not collect information on the sex of applicants at the point of application. However, decisions on approval are not made based on application, but on a first come first serve basis, if the threshold for access is met.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS-funded interpreter bookings resulted in patient non-attendance in each of the last three years; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce costs arising from patient non-attendance where an interpreter has been booked.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested information is not centrally held by the Department.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has independently assessed the clinical benefits and effectiveness of Wegovy.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.
Semaglutide (Wegovy) is recommended by NICE for both managing overweight and obesity and reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in people with cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity.