Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Violence against Women and Girls

Tuesday 11 November 2025 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 1

Key points

  • Anna Dixon thanked the Minister for her commitment to repairing the justice system for victims of domestic abuse, and the Minister responded by affirming the Government's commitment to better supporting victims in the family courts.
  • Sarah Pochin asked the Minister about anyone accused or convicted of a sexual offence being granted asylum in the UK, and the Minister referred her to the stats published on the Ministry of Justice website.
  • Emily Darlington thanked the Minister for repealing the 318 charge for the person at risk of violence order and raised concerns about the rise in online abuse, to which the Minister responded by highlighting the importance of the Online Safety Act in ensuring online platforms remove illegal content promptly.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Anna Dixon Lab Shipley
Justice & Courts Women & Equalities
Context

Anna Dixon highlights the backlog in courts under the previous government which has delayed justice for victims of domestic abuse and sexual abuse. She references her role on the Public Accounts Committee examining this issue.

Question

I have been appalled at the failure of the previous Government to tackle the backlog in the courts, delaying justice for victims of domestic abuse and sexual abuse. I thank the Minister for her unwavering commitment to repairing the justice system that we inherited for victims and survivors. Will she outline the reforms specifically to the family court that the Government are introducing to protect victims of domestic abuse, including children, from further harm?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)

I thank my hon. Friend for that question and for her service on the Public Accounts Committee looking at this issue. The Government are committed to better supporting adult and child victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. The Pathfinder model already provides access to expert support for victims, and published data has shown that the backlogs are more than 50% lower and cases are resolved up to 30 weeks quicker. Importantly, the Government have announced that, when parliamentary time allows, we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement in order to protect children in our family courts.

Answered
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Q2 Sarah Pochin Reform Runcorn and Helsby
Asylum & Refugees
Context

No specific background given, but Sarah Pochin inquires about a serious concern regarding asylum seekers who may have committed sexual offences.

Question

Will the Minister confirm whether she is aware of anyone accused or convicted of a sexual offence having been granted asylum in the UK?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)

I refer the hon. Member to the stats published on the Ministry of Justice website.

How: Referring To Website Statistics

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Q3 Emily Darlington Lab Milton Keynes Central
Crime & Law Enforcement Women & Equalities
Context

Emily Darlington thanks the Minister for repealing a charge for person at risk of violence order. She raises concern about online abuse which is on the rise.

Question

I thank the Minister and the Ministry of Justice ministerial team for repealing the £318 charge for the person at risk of violence order a couple of weeks ago—that will make a huge difference. However, I want to raise the strategy and the fact that online abuse is on the rise. Does she agree that any party that says it wants to repeal the Online Safety Act 2023 is not a party that cares about tackling violence against women and girls?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)

Hear, hear. I thank my hon. Friend for the brilliant work she has been doing in championing this issue recently. The Online Safety Act ensures that online platforms are required to remove illegal content such as harassing or abusive material as soon as they are made aware of it. That is a fundamental feature in order to protect children in our country, and any party seeking to repeal that is not on the side of protecting children.

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Q4 Mark Pritchard Con The Wrekin
Justice & Courts
Context

Mark Pritchard highlights a backlog of over 6000 cases in the west midlands with many being sexual offense cases. He raises concern about delays for victims.

Question

Across the west midlands, there is currently a backlog of 6,000 Crown court cases, many of which are sexual offence cases. In Shropshire, 759 cases are outstanding at Shrewsbury Crown court. Will the Minister commit to looking at the midlands circuit and seeing whether more rape and serious sexual offences resources can be given so that there can be suitably qualified and trained judges and advocates, and cases can be brought more quickly and swiftly to court? In Shropshire, some of those court cases are potentially two years out.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the question and the way in which he asked it. As he will know, the Government are doing all we can to bear down on the backlog in our Crown courts. That is why we have tasked Sir Brian Leveson with looking at how we can best get to grips with it. The right hon. Gentleman is right, however. I have sadly spoken to far too many rape and sexual violence victims who are waiting far too long for their day in court, which has an impact on them. We are straining every sinew, working with the judiciary and colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service, to better support these victims and ensure that when they do get that day in court, they can access justice appropriately and have the best support available to them. I will happily work with him and anyone else in the House to ensure that any victim of crime has the support they need.

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Q5 Kieran Mullan Con Bexhill and Battle
Justice & Courts
Context

Dr Kieran Mullan raises concerns about the Sentencing Bill which is cutting prison time for certain offenders. He highlights that the Minister's colleague was unable to confirm this information at an earlier occasion.

Question

When told by my hon. Friend the Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies) that the Sentencing Bill would cut prison time for rapists and child groomers, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), said she that would have to ‘go away and check’ whether that was true—the time to check was before she voted for the Bill. Surely the victims Minister knows and can tell the House what proportion of rapists and child groomers will have their prison time cut by Labour’s Sentencing Bill.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)

Make no mistake: the Government had to make these choices because of the Conservative Government’s catastrophic mismanagement of our prison system. We are not abolishing short sentences, and judges will retain full discretion to keep offenders locked up. We have built safeguards into the systems to protect victims.

Not answered

Not addressed: specific numbers on reduced sentences for rapists and child groomers

How: Blaming Previous Government, Asserting Judicial Discretion

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