The Government's progressive work on tackling violence against women and girls abroad is not translating into its domestic policy, despite its Violence against Women and Girls Action Strategy and the Home Secretary's personal commitment to the issue. The Committee warns that failure to provide adequate refuge spaces and specialist services for victims of violence against women and girls demonstrates the difficulty for the Government in fulfilling its international obligations under the Convention when decisions over commissioning of certain services has been devolved. The Committee also expresses alarm at the prevalence of violence against women and girls across many cultures in the UK today, and heard troubling evidence from many minority groups that represent women with particular needs. The portrayal of women as victims of violence is deeply embedded in cultural stereotypes, in the depiction of women in the media and in how women are treated in the asylum system. This has to stop The Committee's recommendations include that: schools should play a greater role and include issues of violence against women and girls within the PSHE curriculum; whilst the Government has taken steps to engage with the media and with public awareness campaigns to counteract the sexualised portrayal of women, noting that the BBC declined invitations to give evidence to this inquiry, the media themselves should do more; the Government look again at the payment of universal credit to couples because of its concerns that it could put women subject to domestic violence at risk.

This book offers an in-depth and critical analysis of the Istanbul Convention, along with discussions on its impact and implications. The work highlights the place of the Convention in the landscape of international law and policies on violence against women and equality. The authors argue that the Convention with its emphasis on integrated and comprehensive policies has an important role in promoting equality, but they also note the debates on “genderism” that the Convention has triggered in some member states. The book analyses central concepts of the Convention, including violence, gender and due diligence. It takes up major commitments of the parties to the Convention, including support and services to victims, criminal law provisions and protection of migrant women against violence. The book thus makes a major contribution to the development of national laws, policies and practice. It provides a valuable guide for policy-makers, students and academics in international human rights law, criminal and social law, social policy, social work and gender studies.

This report investigates the actions taken by the Government to improve PSHE following Ofsted's finding in 2013 that the subject required improvement in 40% of schools. It concludes that the Government's current strategy for improving PSHE is weak, with a mismatch between the priority that ministers claim they give PSHE and the steps that have been taken to improve the quality of teaching in the subject. There is an overwhelming demand for statutory sex and relationships education - from teachers, parents and young people themselves. Statutory status will help ensure investment in training for teachers to improve its provision. SRE forms an important part of any school's efforts to safeguard young people from abuse, and is particularly needed to protect the most vulnerable children. PSHE builds character and resilience, and will help young people to live happy and healthy lives. The Committee recommends: all schools should be required to run a regular consultation with parents on the school's SRE provision; the parental right to withdraw their child from elements of SRE should be retained; the Government should formally endorse and issue the SRE guidance produced by Brook, the Sex Education Forum and the PSHE Association and promote this more actively to schools and governors; the funding of continuous professional development for PSHE teachers and school nurses should be reinstated; Ofsted should resume its regular subject surveys of PSHE provision; SRE should be renamed Relationships and Sex Education - RSE - to emphasise the relationships element of the subject.

The last five years have seen a range of international developments, ranging from the growth of radicalisation and fundamentalism, to growing concerns around our energy supply, and rising aggression from Russia. The NSS must be flexible enough to support contingency planning, and in this Report the Committee recommends that the Government produce a classified NSS or annex which can be used in Government departments to influence planning assumptions for a range of scenarios. In its report the Committee said that the next NSS should look hard at the UK's place within the international order, and what strategic thinking should underpin its actions over the next five years. It also needs to influence the Comprehensive Spending Review, to ensure that the Government can make fully-informed decisions on security-related spending. The next NSS should set clear objectives for the UK's future place in the world and geopolitical priorities, and inform the Strategic Defence and Security Review's assessment of the means required to achieve them.

The third edition of Parliament and the Law presents a timely and valuable resource covering recent developments. Brexit, the #MeToo movement, and the COVID-19 pandemic all presented Parliament with a series of challenges. This edition includes new chapters on Brexit, legislation and scrutiny, the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster treaty scrutiny, votes of confidence and the Fixed Term Parliament Act, and the financing of Parliament. This is a multi-disciplinary work authored by lawyers, political scientists, parliamentary officials, and practitioners and is supported by the Study of Parliament Group (SPG).

This collection of essays by leading academics, lawyers, parliamentarians and parliamentary officials provides a critical assessment of the UK Parliament's two main constitutional roles-as a legislature and as the preeminent institution for calling government to account. Both functions are undergoing change and facing new challenges. Part 1 (Legislation) includes chapters on Parliament's emerging responsibilities for pre-legislative scrutiny of government Bills and for evaluating proposed legislation against explicit constitutional standards. The impact on legislation of the European Union and the growing influence of the House of Lords are also examined. Part 2 (Accountability) investigates how Parliament operates to scrutinise areas of executive action previously often shielded from effective parliamentary oversight, including national security, war-making powers and administrative justice. There are also chapters on parliamentary reform, including analysis of the House of Commons 'Wright reforms', parliamentary sovereignty, privilege and the European Convention on Human Rights, Euroscepticism, and parliamentary sovereignty and the regulation of lobbyists. The book will be of interest to anyone who is curious about the work of Parliament and is aimed at legal academics, practitioners and political scientists.

Placing key judgments and expert commentary at your fingertips, Family Law: Text, Cases, and Materials presents everything the undergraduate student needs in one volume. Drawing on their extensive experience, the authors offer a detailed and authoritative exposition of family law illustrated by materials carefully selected from a wide range of sources. The book has two principal aims: to provide readers with a thorough understanding of the law relating to the family, and to stimulate critical reflection on that law. Readers are encouraged to consider how and why the law has developed as it has, what policies it is seeking to pursue, whether it achieves the right balance between the rights and interests of individual family members and the wider public interest, and how it operates in practice. Online Resources The text is supported by substantial online resources, which features regular updates on the law, further reading suggestions, and revision questions to accompany each chapter.