Asked by: Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is in place to help recover the credit score of victims of domestic abuse when their credit score has been impacted by an abusive partner.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the devastating impact economic abuse can have on victims, even long after a relationship ends. ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, outlined a package of commitments to tackle economic abuse.
This included a commitment from His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) to work with Credit Reference Agencies, lenders and the third sector to improve the way coerced debt is reflected on victim-survivors’ credit files with the aim of making it easier for them to access financial products in the future. This commitment was also included in HMT’s recent Financial Inclusion Strategy which considered economic abuse as a key theme, in recognition of the particular challenges victim-survivors can face in accessing financial products and services.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the National Cancer Plan will support people with secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan, published 4 February 2026, will transform outcomes for people with secondary breast cancer.
The National Health Service is piloting the use of self-referral breast cancer pathways to streamline diagnostic pathways using the NHS App and NHS 111 online service. This is in addition to the Government’s commitment for the NHS to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 through a £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics. We are also ensuring as many community diagnostic centres as possible are fully operational and open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
To improve the diagnosis of breast cancer, the NHS will harness 'circulating tumour DNA' tests for breast cancer, which can pick up relapse months earlier. This will accelerate clinical decisions and allow patients to start the most effective treatment faster.
The NHS will monitor the emerging evidence from the BRAID trial, which aims to determine whether additional imaging with one of several types of scans, is helpful in diagnosing breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue. This will target screening programmes at women who are at greater risk of cancer.
The NHS is also improving the experience of those with a cancer diagnosis. Every patient diagnosed with cancer will be supported through a full neighbourhood-level personalised care package, covering mental and physical health as well as any practical or financial concerns. For people with secondary breast cancer, this will be a step forward in building care around them, their needs, their lives, and their families.
We will harness data, as we begin counting metastatic disease, starting with breast cancer, so that people living with incurable cancer are properly recognised and better supported.
Through these National Cancer Plan actions, we will ensure that people with secondary breast cancer have faster diagnoses and treatment, access to the latest treatments and technology, and high-quality support throughout their journey, while we work to drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Rugby Football Union and Sport England on the financial sustainability of Premiership Womens Rugby clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government monitors the financial situation of rugby union closely and continues to work with the RFU, PWR, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
We are working to drive a Decade of Change in women’s sport and we are using the Women’s Sport Taskforce to drive progress across the sector. The Women’s Sport Taskforce was launched at the Women’s Rugby World Cup and seeks to understand and tackle challenges facing women and girls in sport from grassroots to elite.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is providing to Premiership Women’s Rugby clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government monitors the financial situation of rugby union closely and continues to work with the RFU, PWR, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.
We are working to drive a Decade of Change in women’s sport and we are using the Women’s Sport Taskforce to drive progress across the sector. The Women’s Sport Taskforce was launched at the Women’s Rugby World Cup and seeks to understand and tackle challenges facing women and girls in sport from grassroots to elite.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken with relevant authorities to help tackle crime in town centres across greater London.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces, so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting town centre crime.
Our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee is already making a difference. For too long, people have not seen police patrolling their streets. We will have 3,000 more neighbourhood officers by March this year. The Metropolitan Police Service’s projected growth over 2025 to 2026 will be 420 police officers (FTE) and 50 Police Community Support Officers (FTE). We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence.
We are equipping the police to fight the organised crime gangs that are often responsible for driving shop theft across the country. Our £5m investment into OPAL (a specialist policing unit) will supercharge intelligence-led policing to identify offenders, disrupt the tactics used to target shops, and bring more criminals to justice.
We have also delivered on our manifesto pledge: every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour, who will work with communities to develop an action plan to tackle ASB. We are also strengthening the powers to tackle ASB. Our new Respect Orders will give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to tackle the most relentless ASB offenders.
Through our Summer Initiative police forces and local authorities increased patrols in town centres, tackling retail crime and anti-social behaviour as part of the Government’s Plan for Change to make our streets safer. Our Winter of Action, which ran from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026, built on this, with an additional focus on repeat offenders and protecting women and girls at night. The full list of locations the Metropolitan Police Service focused on as part of the Winter of Action can be found here: Winter of Action: location list - GOV.UK
Building from the Winter of Action, we are working with forces and local partners to identify and tackle the most prolific retail offenders - where a few individuals can drive a large proportion of the local crime problem.
Together with the police, we are sending a message: crime and anti-social behaviour will be punished.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what work his Department is doing to help improve data collection on the number of women rough sleeping and to adopt a gender-informed methodology for measuring rough sleeping.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that women experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping have different experiences and needs to men.
In November 2025 the government published the Rough Sleeping Questionnaire deep dive on women’s homelessness. This can be found on gov.uk here. This report was published alongside new data on gender collected as part of the Rough Sleeping Monthly Management Information to capture the gender of those sleeping rough over the course of a month, rather than on a single night. This data can be found on gov.uk here.
Our National Plan to End Homelessness makes clear that councils should adopt a person-centred approach to prevent rough sleeping and consider the specific needs and barriers that some groups, including women, may face in accessing services. To help councils identify those most at risk of long-term rough sleeping, and who need an accommodation-based intervention, we are currently piloting an Ending Rough Sleeping Risk Assessment Tool which takes account of the experiences of women. Our Outreach toolkit will include advice on identifying and engaging women sleeping rough.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of unemployed graduates who are claiming benefits; and what is the proportion of females and males represented in that number.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Lord Patten
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
02 February 2026
Dear Lord Patten,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the number of unemployed graduates who are claiming benefits; and what is the proportion of females and males represented in that number (HL13936).
The ONS collects information on the labour market status of individuals through the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK. People are classed as unemployed if they were not doing paid work in the reference week, or had a job they were temporarily away from, and are actively seeking and available to start work.
Respondents who are not in employment and are aged between 16 and 69 years are asked if they are claiming any state benefits or tax credits, as well as information regarding any qualifications they have.
The estimated number of unemployed people in the UK aged between 16 and 69 years, who claim any state benefits or tax credits, and have a degree or equivalent qualification, for September to November 2025, the latest LFS period available, is 190,000. This number is made up of an estimated 58% women and 42% men.
Because the identification of whether someone claims benefits is based on survey responses, the total number will differ from administrative counts of claimants.
Labour Force Survey (LFS) are considered ‘official statistics in development’ until further review. Previous challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach led to increased volatility. While these have lessened following improvement action, we still advise some caution when interpreting changes in recent periods.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will include the British Standard Institution's health and safety document entitled BS 30416 on Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace, published on 31 May 2023, in her Department's guidance on the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that employers already have access to a wide range of guidance on supporting employees experiencing menopause, including resources produced by the British Standards Institution. While current government guidance does not specifically reference BS 30416: Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace, our aim is to ensure that current and future government advice complements and aligns with such materials.
As part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, this government took the first step towards requiring large employers to publish an action plan detailing what steps they are taking to support employees through the menopause. To support employers to develop these plans, the Office for Equality and Opportunity will provide guidance on recommended actions. This will be drawn from existing evidence, such as DWP's own Menopause in the Workplace Literature Review, while recognising that some actions may also support women managing other reproductive health conditions at work.
Additionally, as part of Government’s wider commitment to Make Work Pay, DWP committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. This is available on the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS): Managing the menopause - Menopause at work - Acas. Actions set out in this guidance are aligned with, and complement, the advice set out in BS 30416 on Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace.
We will keep the evidence base and our guidance under review to ensure it reflects emerging research and best practice in supporting employees experiencing menopause and wider reproductive health conditions.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Iran concerning the disproportionate arrests and harsh interrogations of Jews, Christians, and Baha’is in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary told Foreign Minister Araghchi directly that the Iranian Government must immediately end the violence carried out against peaceful protestors in Iran, and uphold fundamental rights and freedoms.
We subsequently led the call, alongside international partners, for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 23 January to address the ongoing abuses in Iran, and we were pleased that the Council voted to extend the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to collect evidence of the authorities' human rights violations, including in relation to religion or belief.
At the Council, UK Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders, highlighted the bravery of protesters, especially women and members of religious and ethnic minority groups, who faced severe repression in their daily lives. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its repression of Freedom of Religion or Belief.
For further background, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 August 2025 to Question 67802.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of State Pension age changes for 1950s-born women living in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age.
Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.