I regret to inform the House that because of an administrative error, the verbal answer I gave to my noble colleague, the Baroness

Scotland of Asthal on 21 November 2013, Official Report Column 1114 was incorrect. The correct answer is:

The United Kingdom signed the Istanbul Convention on 8 June 2012. The decision to sign the Convention reflected the government’s commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, stalking, physical and psychological violence and sexual violence. To ratify the Convention, the United Kingdom needs to comply with all the articles, including criminalisation of Forced Marriage, which is currently being taken through in the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill 2013.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a key priority for the Government. The UK already has some of the most robust protections in the world against violence towards women and many of the articles of CAHVIO are already in place or in progress.

We are currently working within Government and with the Devolved Administrations to ensure that our law and service provision fully meet the requirements of the Convention, before we ratify.