The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.

We continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure there is a relentless pursuit of prolific perpetrators, including through operational intensification initiatives.

We are also clear that online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation and must be responsible and accountable for content on their sites, including taking proactive steps to prevent their sites being used by criminals. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment, or face significant penalties.

Home Office Ministers regularly meet with ministerial colleagues from other departments, as well as stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators who pose a risk to women and girls, and to enhance support for victims who are being sexually exploited.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this ambition.

We have not estimated the number of women being advertised on websites advertising prostitution in Gower, but the Government recognises that adult service websites are the most significant enabler of trafficking for sexual exploitation. Online platforms need to be responsible and accountable for content on their sites and take proactive steps to prevent their sites being used by criminals. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and sites, including adult service websites, will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

In addition, the Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators.

The Government will continue to keep policies to tackle sexual exploitation under review.

Ministers have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, including protecting people from illegal activity online.

The Online Safety Act gives online platforms new duties to tackle illegal content and activity on their services. Sexual exploitation offences are ‘priority offences’ within the Act; service providers need to take proactive steps to search for, remove and limit people’s exposure to this harmful kind of illegal content. Firms will need to start risk assessing for illegal content by the end of the year and the illegal content duties will be fully in effect by Spring 2025.

The Online Safety Act imposes duties on user-to-user services and publishers of pornography to prevent children encountering pornographic content online.

Ofcom can enforce duties on publishers of pornography from early 2025. The age assurance duties for user-to-user services will come into effect by summer 2025.

Additionally, the Independent Pornography Review will assess the effectiveness of pornography legislation, regulation and enforcement, including online and offline regulation. We expect that the independent review will finalise towards the end of this year.

Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography. The Act requires services in scope to understand risks from illegal content online and take mitigating action.

Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Independent Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of the levers available to us to deliver this.

The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators, and we are working closely with the voluntary and community sector to help victims. We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Gower. However, between January and June 2024, there were 7 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in West Glamorgan.

To help support people at risk of being sexually exploited, Changing Lives has received £1.36m from the Home Office over three years (2022-2025) for their Net-Reach project, which provides online outreach, early intervention and intensive support for women and girls at high-risk of exploitation and abuse.

In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes a support worker to help them access support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

Protecting those involved in prostitution from harm is part of our wider work to halve the level of violence against woman and girls.

This government will use every lever available to us to prevent the harms that prostituted women often experience.

We will work with law enforcement and charity organisations to deliver this.

The trafficking of woman and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. We are determined to safeguard victims and to bring the ruthless perpetrators of this crime to justice.

We are working closely with law enforcement partners and the devolved administrations to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators and implementing the Online Safety Act 2023 so online companies fulfil their duty to eradicate this exploitation from their sites.

We are committed to making our streets safer by tackling the harm and exploitation associated with prostitution. This Government will work closely with the voluntary and community sector to ensure that those who want to leave are able to.

The Home Office is funding a three-year project by Changing Lives to tackle violence against women and girls online, which includes providing early intervention and support for women and girls at high risk of commercial online exploitation.

The trafficking of woman and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. We are determined to safeguard victims and to bring the ruthless perpetrators of this crime to justice.

We are working closely with law enforcement partners and the devolved administrations to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators and implementing the Online Safety Act 2023 so online companies fulfil their duty to eradicate this exploitation from their sites.

We are committed to making our streets safer by tackling the harm and exploitation associated with prostitution. This Government will work closely with the voluntary and community sector to ensure that those who want to leave are able to.

The Home Office is funding a three-year project by Changing Lives to tackle violence against women and girls online, which includes providing early intervention and support for women and girls at high risk of commercial online exploitation.

Statistics are published regularly showing the number of Universal Credit full service claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction. These can be found in the UC sanction rates dataset on Stat-Xplore and are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency monthly from April 2019 to August 2023.

Since July 2023, 30 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the Gower constituency.

The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.

Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

Almost 98% of premises in the Gower constituency can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps), in line with the national average of 97%. Over 69% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection, which is below the national average of 80%, but has increased significantly since January 2021, when coverage was under 25%.

To improve coverage further, the Government is rolling out Project Gigabit, and we have launched procurements across the UK inviting suppliers to bid for contracts to bring gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses that are unlikely to be reached by broadband suppliers' commercial rollout plans alone. The Gower constituency is included in a cross regional procurement which launched last year, and we expect to award a contract this summer.

Table 1 shows the number and percentage of initial decision awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the initial decision.

Table 1

Table 2 shows the number and percentage of Award Reviews (AR) and Change of Circumstances (CoC) awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the AR or CoC decision.

Table 2

Please note:

• Figures in Table 1 and Table 2 are rounded to the nearest 10.
• Percentages in Table 1 and Table 2 are calculated using unrounded figures, then rounded to the nearest percent.
• These figures include initial decisions (New Claims, Reconsiderations), award reviews and change of circumstances following an assessment for PIP up to 30^th June 2023, the latest date for which published data is available.
• These figures include mandatory reconsideration outcomes up to 30^th September 2023, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more MRs could be made and completed after September 2023, so numbers may change as it can take some time for an MR to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision, award review and chance of circumstances.

Table 1 shows the number and percentage of initial decision awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after an appeal tribunal hearing, in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the initial decision.

Table 1

Table 2 shows the number and percentage of Award Reviews (AR) and Change of Circumstances (CoC) awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after an appeal tribunal hearing, in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the AR or CoC decision.

Table 2

Please note:

• Figures in Table 1 and Table 2 are rounded to the nearest 10.
• Percentages in Table 1 and Table 2 are calculated using unrounded figures, then rounded to the nearest percent.
• In Table 1, the figures for the financial year 2023/24 were excluded because their values and proportions rounded to zero.
• In Table 2, the figures for the financial year 2023/24 were excluded because their values and proportions rounded to zero.
• These figures include initial decisions (New Claims, Reconsiderations), award reviews and change of circumstances following an assessment for PIP up to 30^th June 2023, the latest date for which published data is available.
• These figures include appeal outcomes up to 30^th September 2023, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more appeals could be made and completed after September 2023, so numbers may change as it can take some time for an appeal to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision, award review and change of circumstances.

There were 3,000 Universal Credit households in the Gower constituency that were subject to a deduction in the period September 2022 to August 2023.

Notes:

1. Household level figures have been provided as deductions are applied at the household level.

2. The number of households has been rounded to the nearest 100.

3. Data for September 2022 - August 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.

4. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

5. The figure includes the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in the period September 2022 - August 2023. Any household with deductions in more than one assessment period within the period requested will only be counted once.

6. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.

Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.

The UK Government has provided extensive support to Gower. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes over 221,000 payments delivered in Gower through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 11,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, over £23 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and around £59 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans

The UK Government has also supported innovation within Gower with around £100,000 awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019. Gower has also received around £350,000 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to level up local sports facilities.

In addition, Swansea, the local authority for the Gower constituency, is receiving over £41 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Gower also benefits from the £235 million Swansea Bay City Deal, including the £10 million region-wide skills and talent programme.

This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.

No such assessment has been made. The Government is up-rating benefits in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April.

The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the six years, 2014/15 to 2019/20, can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment – particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19^th January to question number 104377.