Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children receiving SEND transport support where the responsible adult has access to a vehicle through the Motability Scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to arrange free home-to-school travel for eligible children. A child’s eligibility is not affected by any further benefits or allowances they or their parents may receive.
The department does not collect or hold information about the number of children receiving home to school travel from their local authority where the responsible adult has access to a vehicle through the Motability Scheme.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the availability of shore power and alternative fuel infrastructure for ferry operators serving the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The policies set out in the Government’s Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy will encourage more shore power or alternative fuel availability for ferry operators, by incentivising investment in maritime decarbonisation across the UK and in our ports.
This Government will continue to work with Ofgem, the independent energy regulator, in its work to incentivise network companies to invest strategically ahead of need, ensuring that future grid capacity planning reflects the emerging demands from electrifying sectors, including the Isle of Wight ferry market.
Through our UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions research programme, we have awarded nearly £580k funding to support a feasibility study, which is looking into options for providing shore power for the existing Wightlink FastCat ferry service.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made towards meeting the Government’s target to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
“Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” was published on 18th December 2025 and sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our commitment to halve VAWG in a decade.
Since July 2024, the Home Office has delivered a series of measures to tackle these crimes including: establishing the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection; commencing the rollout of Raneem’s Law to strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse; introducing Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in the first pilot areas; announcing £53 million of funding over four years to expand the Drive Project across England and Wales; and rolling out the Steps to Safety referral initiative.
Throughout 2026, we will begin delivering many of the commitments set out in the Strategy. This includes the publication of new statutory guidance on Domestic Homicide Reviews, as well as the further rollout of Raneem’s Law to improve the police response to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Together, these measures represent significant steps towards meeting our ambition to halve VAWG within the next decade.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national register for people found guilty of exploiting children for criminal activity.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.
CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.
County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.
While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.
As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.
In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.
Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent children from being exploited by drug gangs in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands and (c) the UK.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.
CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.
County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.
While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.
As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.
In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.
Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support children and families who have been victims of child exploitation by organised crime.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.
CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.
County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.
While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.
As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.
In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.
Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what metrics are being used to measure progress on reducing violence against women and girls.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We will measure progress against our ambition to halve VAWG is through a headline metric of the combined prevalence estimate of the proportion of people (aged 16 and over) who experienced any of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking in the previous 12 months, as measured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Given the complexity and breadth of these crimes, a single metric cannot fully capture progress. We will therefore track a set of supporting headline metrics, focused on female homicide, repeat domestic abuse, and the prevalence of sexual harassment.
These measures will be underpinned by a wider range of sub-metrics, such as measures of online harms, to assess progress across government against the pillars of the Strategy.
Further detail on our performance framework can be found on page 70 of Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the relative costs to Northern Ireland of a) inclusion of maritime emissions in the UK ETS and (b) potential exposure to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The published Impact Assessment found the inclusion of maritime activities in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to have a positive net present social value for the UK.
Independent analysis by Frontier Economics identified no material risk of carbon leakage, diversion of trade, or competitive distortion on Great Britain–Northern Ireland routes. Internal route-specific case studies also show very small effects on final prices, with increases of under 1% for typical freight goods.
On average between 2022-24 annual UK exports of goods in scope of EU CBAM were worth almost £7bn, and without a CBAM exemption, UK exporters could face associated costs.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the predominant use of male CPR manikins in first aid training on survival outcomes for women experiencing cardiac arrest.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of research that shows differences in bystander response in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to men versus women. Research also shows that training is key to improving bystander confidence in providing CPR to women and use of female manikins may assist in this.
NHS England has published a list of tools and resources on its website to improve cardiac arrest outcomes, with further information available at the following link:
This includes guidance from St John’s Ambulance on How to do CPR and use a defibrillator on a person with breasts, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sja.org.uk/first-aid-advice/cpr-on-women-and-other-people-with-breasts/
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department issues to first aid training providers on anatomical differences between men and women relevant to the delivery of CPR.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of research that shows differences in bystander response in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to men versus women. Research also shows that training is key to improving bystander confidence in providing CPR to women and use of female manikins may assist in this.
NHS England has published a list of tools and resources on its website to improve cardiac arrest outcomes, with further information available at the following link:
This includes guidance from St John’s Ambulance on How to do CPR and use a defibrillator on a person with breasts, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sja.org.uk/first-aid-advice/cpr-on-women-and-other-people-with-breasts/