1. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential merits of creating new domestic abuse aggravated offences.
The Government are absolutely committed to tackling the scourge of domestic abuse and halving violence against women and girls in a decade. We are implementing a domestic abuse identifier at sentencing to ensure consistent recognition of domestic abuse offenders across the whole justice system. That will strengthen victim protection and offender management, delivering on a recommendation made by the independent sentencing review.
I am sickened by the frequency with which I hear from victims and survivors of domestic abuse about the ways in which the criminal justice system has aggravated their trauma. One constituent recently told me that she was living in fear after her abuser was released early and the Probation Service failed to enforce probation conditions. Another has seen the charges against her ex-partner scheduled for criminal trial in two years’ time, and in the meantime he continues to exert control through the family courts. Will the Minister meet me to review what has gone wrong in those two cases and what lessons can be learned about how to use identifiers of aggravation to give victims and survivors more protection?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question and for all his work to amplify the voices of victims and survivors. Like him, I am sickened by the treatment of the majority of women and girls who go through this in our criminal justice system. He will know that we inherited a criminal justice system in absolute crisis. That is why we conducted a once-in-a-generation review of our courts process—the Leveson review—which the Government will respond to shortly, and a once-in-a-generation sentencing review, to consider exactly the issues that he is talking about. I will happily meet him to discuss this further.
My constituent, who had been the victim of historical domestic abuse by both her partner and her children, recently raised with me the need for a clearer understanding and definition of child-to-parent abuse. At the time of her abuse, she did not know that what her children were doing could be classified as domestic abuse, and both the police and social services failed to understand that she was the victim, not her children. Will the Minister provide an update on the work to reach a legal definition of child-to-parent abuse.
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that vital point. She will, like me, be horrified by the results of the Femicide Census report this week, which show a rise in mothers being killed by their sons. We must tackle that as a society. She will be pleased to know that what she is talking about will be in the upcoming violence against women and girls strategy.
2. What steps she is taking to support trans people in the context of the Supreme Court judgment in the case of For Women Scotland v. Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.
Trans people deserve dignity and respect. The Government are upholding the legal protections that Labour’s Equality Act 2010 put in place, ensuring that trans people can live free from discrimination and harassment. Work is already under way to fulfil our manifesto commitments, including the delivery of a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, the equalisation of all strands of hate crime, and a review of health services to ensure that trans people receive appropriate and high-quality care.
The Minister will be aware that many trans people with gender recognition certificates followed all the legal processes in good faith, often over many years, and made legally binding commitments to live in their acquired gender for life. Yet now that they find themselves legally bound to live in one gender, they are at the same time being denied access to services and facilities aligned with that gender. How does the Minister plan to resolve those contradictory legal obligations, and what will she do to provide immediate support to the trans community?
I recognise the importance of gender recognition certificates. Let me be absolutely clear to this House, as I have been on many occasions: no one, including trans people, should suffer indignity or a lack of respect. They must of course have access to safe provisions and appropriate services. However, the Supreme Court ruling was clear that biological sex is the means by which single-sex provision will be delivered.
I am really pleased that the Government are committed to delivering a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy. When will that legislation be introduced to bring that abusive practice to an end?
We are committed to bringing forward a draft Bill to ensure that we deliver on our manifesto commitment to a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, which are abhorrent and have no place in our society.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has confirmed that at least 19 public bodies, including organisations across the policing, education and health sectors, are misrepresenting the law on single-sex spaces. That is a breach of the Equality Act 2010, as confirmed by the recent Supreme Court ruling. Has the Minister been told which bodies they are, and how can women and girls have any confidence in them if they are knowingly and deliberately breaking the law?
The results of the previous Government’s call for input showed that, although the law was being followed in the majority of cases, a small number of examples were identified that seemed to have misinterpreted how the single-sex exemptions of the Equality Act operate. As the hon. Lady will appreciate, it is for the independent regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to follow up on these issues through the appropriate processes. It is doing so in more detail and will work with organisations to put that right.
My constituent Charlie is from Offerton. He has a gender recognition certificate that states that he is male; he has a birth certificate that states that he is male; and he has a resplendent ginger beard. The interim EHRC guidance, however, states that he should use the ladies’ loo. That is clearly crackers, and Charlie tells me that he has had stick in the past when using the ladies.
It is in the interest of the whole of society for trans people to be able to leave the house and for there to be a loo that they can use in peace when they do so, while they contribute fully to our society. Does the Secretary of State agree that when the final guidance is published, which we expect soon, parliamentary scrutiny would be a good thing to ensure that the guidance is as good as it can possibly be, so that trans people can live their lives to the full with the clarity and security that they need?