Data regarding the age of the victim is not held by the Ministry of Justice, except where it is specifically defined in statute (for example, where the offence is a sexual offence against a child). In addition, the Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the asylum status of offenders.

The removal of Foreign National Offenders is a priority for this Government and within its first two years (July 2024 to June 2026), this Government has increased returns of FNOs by 41% compared to the last two years of the previous Government.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Effective early identification and support is critical to improving outcomes for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with autism.

We have proposed the introduction of National Inclusion Standards, which will support education settings to identify and respond to needs earlier and more consistently, drawing on a broad range of evidence and professional expertise, so that all children and young people can receive the support they need to achieve and thrive.

The National Inclusion Standards will be underpinned by a £200 million training package to ensure that all teachers, educators, teaching assistants, support staff and leaders across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support pupils with SEND, and a new investment of £3.7 billion to drive more inclusive school estates and create additional specialist places.

We will continue to engage closely with young people, parents and professionals as we develop our reforms and how they will work in practice. The department also engages with the devolved governments at ministerial and official level on a range of areas covering education, skills and family policies and will continue to do so.

No.

On behalf of my party, may I send our condolences to the Prime Minister on the death of his father?

I want to ask the Secretary of State a very simple question. Does she think it is acceptable for young girls to be required to wear a hijab to school as part of their school uniform?

As the right hon. Lady would expect, we have been in close touch with the school. Obviously, it is a decision for the local authority, now that the school has become voluntary aided. As I understand it, the school has now clarified that hijabs are not compulsory.

I am delighted by that answer. Thank you. This is not a hypothetical situation. A school in Barnet that has recently become state funded says that it is compulsory for girls as young as seven to cover their heads as part of the uniform. Given the Secretary of State’s very welcome repudiation of this, will she intervene to stop the school’s policy?

The government recognises that endometriosis can affect a pupil’s health, wellbeing and ability to attend school and participate fully in education. Regular attendance is important for pupils’ attainment, wellbeing and wider development, and schools should work with pupils and families to understand and address health-related barriers to attendance.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, which would include endometriosis. Schools must have regard to the department’s statutory guidance about support for pupils at school with medical conditions, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

This guidance makes clear that pupils with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they can play a full and active role in school life, remain healthy and achieve their academic potential.

The statutory guidance regarding collaboration between schools, academy trusts, governing bodies and local authorities is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance. This guidance promotes a 'support first' approach and expects schools to be particularly mindful of absent pupils because of physical or mental ill health. Schools should work in partnership with families to understand the individual barriers a pupil faces, put appropriate support in place and consider reasonable adjustments where relevant.

In March, the department consulted on revised guidance on supporting children and young people with medical conditions, and this will be published in due course.

I take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor, now the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for her excellent work leading the campaign globally on violence against women and girls. My answer is 100% yes, I will continue her brilliant work.

Globally, the rights of women and girls are being stripped away at alarming speed, particularly when it comes to education and sexual and reproductive rights. Does the Foreign Secretary plan to honour his predecessor’s commitment to making sure that women’s and girls’ rights are embedded across FCDO programming?

The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.

While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.

For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.

Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.

The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.

Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.

The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.

While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.

For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.

Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.

The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.

Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.

The true scale of group-based child sexual exploitation remains unknown because of under-reporting, under-identification, and variations in data collection and analysis. However, data from the Centre for Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse shows that 15% of girls and 5% of boys are estimated to have been sexually abused before the age of 16.

The Home Office continues to work with policing colleagues to improve data collection and analysis to improve understanding of these crimes and to develop a more accurate understanding of victims and perpetrators.

We continue to support the Office for National Statistics work on the Safety During Childhood Survey, which will improve our understanding of the scale of a range of harms that children and young people experience, including child sexual abuse.

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend and her Committee for their interest in personal safety on the transport network, especially that of women and girls. We have an ambitious, evidence-based programme to tackle VAWG on the transport network, and we are delivering nine commitments under the “Freedom from violence and abuse” strategy, including funding to improve CCTV connectivity between stations and the British Transport police. We are also launching mandatory crime and antisocial behaviour training for bus industry staff.

This government is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million creative careers initiative, to equip young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the creative industries. This includes ‘Into Games’ workshops in schools led by trained industry professionals, and ‘Get into Games’ regional careers festivals.

The department funds the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges to deliver high-quality careers education, including work experience. The CEC supports the science, technology, engineering and mathematics sector to raise awareness of the opportunities and pathways available. This includes ‘Tech She Can’, which encourages girls and young women to explore gaming and wider technology careers through initiatives such as a Virtual Employability Week.

There are also local programmes across the CEC careers hub network, for example Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which works with leading gaming employers to strengthen the talent pipeline and deliver the Mayor’s pledge to support this key growth industry.