My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness; we have had unanimity of voice in this House.

In the spirit of the debate so far, I begin by congratulating the noble Baroness, Lady Rendell, on her sponsorship of the Bill. It is an extremely worthwhile piece of legislation, which has the Government's full support. If I may, I should like to comment on the sentiments expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Gould, when she noted that we are few in number. Notwithstanding the fact that we are few, we are many in sentiment and we few, we happy few, we band of sisters, are able to have our voices heard.

I would particularly like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to my Honourable Friend Ann Clwyd for giving priority to this important issue in Another place, and to all those who have contributed to the successful passage of the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985, not least, as has already been said, the honourable Marion Roe in the other place, who was the driving force behind it. It is a testament to their combined efforts that we are able to bring forward these measures today in an atmosphere of much less Opposition.

Sadly, some of the noble Lords concerned are no longer with us but they, and others, particularly the noble Baronesses, Lady Masham and Lady Trumpington, laid the foundation for what we are doing today. I am particularly delighted that the noble Baroness, Lady Trumpington, is in her place and that she took the opportunity to speak in the gap.

The noble Baroness asked, "What about Scotland"—to which I can say, "I am here". The criminal law has been devolved to Scotland and, in the past-devolution era, the convention is that we should not legislate for Scotland in devolved areas of the law, unless the Scottish Parliament passes a Sewel Motion allowing us to do so. We understand that the Scottish Parliament intends to introduce similar legislation of its own on this matter. I hope that gives the noble Baroness some comfort.

I also acknowledge the work of colleagues of all parties from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health. The group has done much to raise the profile of female genital mutilation. Indeed, some of its recommendations led to this very Bill.

I endorse wholeheartedly and without reservation, and I pledge my support as the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, invited me to do, in relation to all matters in relation to this debate. Female genital mutilation is an extremely painful and harmful practice that has no religious significant whatever. It was graphically and almost painfully described by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay of Llandff, in her medical exposition of what the practice entails. It is indeed horrific.

The Government roundly condemn the practice and want to see it eradicated once and for all, both in this country and abroad. It is wholly unacceptable that we should allow a practice that can have such devastating consequences for the health of a young girl throughout her life. The mutilation and impairment of young girls and women can have no place in modern society, where equality is prized.

We all recognise that female genital mutilation may be deeply steeped in the culture and tradition of those communities that practise it. Several noble Baronesses have mentioned that today. However, respect for other cultures does not include condoning or ignoring such a terrible violation of human rights—in particular, the right of the child to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, as set out in Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the right of women under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women not to be discriminated against because of their gender.

I shall confine myself to the questions asked by the noble Baronesses, Lady Thomas of Walliswood and Lady Anelay. The 1985 Act, which was one of the first in the world to make female genital mutilation explicitly illegal, was an important and necessary step in the fight to eradicate this abhorrent practice. But in the light of what we now know—that parents of some communities are deliberately evading our law by taking girls abroad for female genital mutilation—it does not go far enough. It is essential that the law is strengthened to protect girls from mutilation, even beyond these shores. I hope that the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, can see it as a positive that people are removing their children from this country, as it shows an appreciation that they cannot do it with ease here.

Some of those who have debated the provisions in another place, together with the noble Baronesses, Lady Thomas of Walliswood and Lady Anelay, question the wisdom of strengthening legislation that has yet to result in a prosecution. As we have heard, among the countries that have specific Laws against female genital mutilation, the UK is not alone, regrettably, in having no prosecutions. One reason may be that people can evade our law by going abroad, which is what the Bill seeks to address.

The nature of the offence, the vulnerability of its young victims and the conspiracy of silence within the practising communities are also barriers to prosecution. In practice, prosecution can occur only if an offence is reported to the police, a referral is made to the Crown Prosecution Service and there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal proceedings. The willingness of victims and others to come forward to give evidence in court is crucial. We need to create a climate in which victims will feel able to come forward and receive the help and support they need to give their best evidence.

Above all, we need to change the way in which people think about female genital mutilation. It is a sad fact that, as the noble Baroness, Lady Gibson, so graphically described, older women who themselves are victims of female genital mutilation are often the strongest advocates for the continuance of the practice. Such attitudes are deeply ingrained and it will take more than legislation to change them. That is why, as noble Lords have said, legislation must be accompanied by raising awareness of the law and a continuous programme of education aimed at the grassroots level.

On the domestic front, the Home Office and the Department of Health already help to fund two of the voluntary organisations—which have already been mentioned—that do such valuable work to combat female genital mutilation: the Foundation for Women's Health Research and Development (FORWARD) and the Agency for Culture and Change Management. Both organisations work closely with health, education and child protection agencies and of course with the practising communities themselves to promote understanding and encourage solutions to the problem.

Our stand against female genital mutilation is supported by the major bodies in the medical profession, which have issued guidance or position statements on FGM. Women and girls from the FGM-practising communities have the same right of access to NHS services as everyone else ordinarily resident in the UK. It is important that they are treated sympathetically. Health professionals have a particular role to play in dealing with FGM—which is why I was so glad to hear the comments by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay. However, it also involves all professionals looking at this issue together.

Internationally, many are working in a large number of countries, particularly Africa, to eradicate female genital mutilation and to provide adequate healthcare for girls and women affected by it. We are supporting their work. The Department for International Development seeks to reduce the incidence and consequences of FGM by ensuring worldwide awareness of the practice, funding research and supporting activities and projects designed to change behaviour in the long term. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is also working through our bilateral programmes and the UN and other international bodies to encourage countries which have not done so to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and to implement the agreements made at the 1995 Beijing and the 2000 Beijing+5 Women's Conferences.

In short, the Government believe that educating the practising communities, both here and abroad, to abandon FGM is the best way forward in breaking the cycle of mutilation. We do not underestimate the difficulties of ending centuries of a practice that is deeply ingrained in the social fabric of those communities. However, I should like to reassure all noble Lords that the professions and the agencies are determined to look at this practice, and we now have many more and much better tools with which to do so. I, too, wish the Bill Godspeed.