Courts should be given new powers to prevent girls being taken abroad if they are at risk of genital mutilation, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said on Thursday.
In an interview with the House Magazine in the runup to the Labour conference, she said a Labour government would introduce female genital mutilation (FGM) protection orders, giving legal powers for civil courts to intervene and prevent FGM, including by preventing the removal abroad of a child at risk.
A similar kind of protection order has been put in place to prevent forced marriages. Forced marriage protection orders were introduced into law in 2007 and have been used more than 600 times. Girls at risk are protected from marrying against their will and the orders can stop parents being able to take their children abroad.
The Home Office has been consulting over the summer on the possibility of bringing in similar FGM orders. FGM has been a specific criminal offence since 1985 but there have so far been no convictions in England and Wales.
“FGM is a horrific abuse of children,” Cooper said. “We need to send a clear message that it will not be tolerated in the UK and that we will act to stop children being taken out of the country to be violently mutilated. Protection orders will give courts the vital power to stop children from travelling if there is evidence they may be at risk of FGM.
“But we must also do more to ensure all those who work with children and young people – health visitors, doctors, nurses and teachers – are given more support to identify future victims of FGM and intervene before it is too late.”
She added: “We know that some young victims will already have returned to Britain to live with the pain and mental trauma that follows this brutal abuse. We cannot turn our backs on these young women.”
In a separate interview for the same magazine, the shadow work and pensions secretary, Rachel Reeves, said it was her intention to make government contracts conditional on staff being paid the living wage.
“That’s something we’re looking at for the manifesto, and it’s something that I think is possible and something I really would want to see a Labour government achieve,” she said.
Labour’s plans to boost the statutory minimum wage were given a boost when 22 leading industrialists signed a letter calling for a rise in its level. The signatories included the chief executives of Kingfisher and Nomura.
The letter was co-signed by Sir George Bain, former chairman of the Low Pay commission, and Alan Buckle, former deputy chairman of KPMG, who was appointed by Ed Miliband to examine the future of the minimum wage policy.
The letter will be a boost for the Labour leader, partly because it shows there is a group of influential businessmen willing to accept his agenda, including his belief that the minimum wage might have to rise faster than inflation if all employees were to benefit from the recovery. It also underscores the extent to which the minimum wage is an accepted part of the business landscape.
The letter states: “We also share concerns that the value of the minimum wage has fallen in recent years. Over the last 15 years the national minimum wage has been successful in boosting pay at the bottom of society without leading to a loss of jobs. For businesses, it has created a level playing field, enabling employers to improve business performance and staff conditions without fear of being undercut by companies competing on lower wage rates.
“The Low Pay commission was right to be cautious during the economic downturn. Now, as the economy recovers, we believe the minimum wage should rise faster than it has in the recent past. A stronger minimum wage will benefit businesses, improve public finances, and help tackle low pay. The economy is growing again. But we must ensure that all employees are benefiting from the recovery – especially the lowest paid in society who find it hardest to make ends meet.”
Signatories also included Jeremy Bennett, chief executive officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Nomura Holdings; Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of the energy company SSE, Chris Britton, founder and partner at B&B Investment and former chief executive of the Findus Group; Sir Ian Cheshire, chief executive of Kingfisher; Iain Ferguson, chairman of the Stobart Group; Steve Marshall, executive chair of Balfour Beatty; Kevin Mcgrath, chair of M&M Property Asset Management; Robert Stephenson-Padron, managing director of Penrose Care; and Craig Wilson, managing director of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services, UK.