On 12 February the Home Office announced that front line professionals will have a mandatory duty to report cases of female genital mutilation (FGM). Click here for more on this.
The Government has tabled amendments to the Serious Crime Bill to ensure the new duty is legislated for ahead of the dissolution of Parliament. The government has also included a measure to provide multi-agency statutory guidance for front line professionals.
The move follows a public consultation which sought views from a wide range of professionals, community groups, survivors and law enforcement on how a mandatory reporting duty could work and who it should apply to.
The government is falling short of its commitment to protect jobseekers from feeling pressured into work in the sex industry
It has been confirmed that the current provider of refuge and outreach DV services in Exeter and East Devon was unsuccessful in its bid