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1698669

registered interest
date	25/03/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce family court waiting times for domestic abuse victims seeking to divorce abusive partners.
tabling member constituency	North Shropshire
tabling member printed	Helen Morgan
uin	20488
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>In April 2022, the Government implemented the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act (“DDSA”) 2020. The DDSA provides a minimum period of 26 weeks to obtain a divorce, and benefits victims of domestic abuse by making it no longer possible for abusive respondents to exercise control by ‘defending’ a divorce and prolonging proceedings. The DDSA did not provide an exemption for domestic abuse victims from the 26-week minimum period because to do so would require a victim to set out allegations, risking further abuse by a perpetrator.</p><p>The Government is working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to consider whether a pilot can be established to test a new, fast-track procedure for contested financial cases on divorce under a certain value threshold. The pilot will aim to provide swifter outcomes for litigants, including victims of domestic abuse.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 15/04/2024 11:23:15 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4934 label Biography information for Helen Morgan

1662639

registered interest
date	02/10/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish a response to the report by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change, published on 17 July.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Leicester
uin	HL10464
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2023 answer text <p>The Government has received the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report; “The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change”. We are considering the recommendations made and will publish a full response by early November 2023.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 16/10/2023 11:36:30 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	4947 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Leicester

1657864

registered interest
date	04/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation 2 of the report by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner entitled The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change, published in July 2023, if he will make it his policy to introduce a domestic abuse best practice lead in every family court area.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	197521
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>The Government received the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report “The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change” on 18 July. We are considering the recommendations made and will publish a full response to the report shortly.</p><p>With regard to the Pathfinder courts, monitoring and evaluation is ongoing across both pilot areas. We anticipate this will be concluded in spring 2024, at which stage we will consider how best to disseminate the lessons learnt.</p><p>In May, we published an update on the Pathfinder pilots, outlining the early indicators of success and progress towards key policy goals. Early insights are positive, and the pilots are being well received in the local areas.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 197519 197520 197522 question first answered 11/09/2023 14:48:31 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1610251

registered interest
date	14/04/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases: Final Report, published on 6 October 2020, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) cost-effectiveness of and (b) optimal model for the delivery of the provision of specialist support services for both survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	180384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>Since the Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases report was published in June 2020, good progress has been made on delivering the commitments taken forward in the Government’s Implementation Plan, with the majority of these completed or well under way.</p><p>We have designed and are piloting a more investigative – and less adversarial - approach for private law proceedings in Dorset and North Wales, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. Alongside this, the Judicial College has launched new domestic abuse digital training packages for the judiciary and has rolled out a programme of compulsory domestic abuse training for family and civil judges. Monitoring and evaluation of the pilots is ongoing and will inform any decision on rolling out the process further, we anticipate this will be concluded in early 2024.</p><p>In April 2023, Family Procedure Rule Committee amended the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to allow Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.</p><p>My Department will shortly publish a full update on all Harm Panel commitments.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 180382 180383 question first answered 19/04/2023 16:27:24 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1599456

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment with his Cabinet colleagues of the health impact on survivors of domestic abuse of participating in the family court process.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North West
tabling member printed	Taiwo Owatemi
uin	153999
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2023 answer text <p>The Government recognises the impact family court proceedings can have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse. In the Government’s Implementation Plan, published in response to the 2020 expert panel report ‘Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases’, we made a number of commitments to improve the experiences of domestic abuse survivors in the family court. We have made good progress against those commitments. We have implemented a prohibition on cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers, improved safety at court and provided automatic eligibility for special measures for victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. We have also launched the Integrated Domestic Abuse Court pilot in Dorset and North Wales to reduce the re-traumatisation of domestic abuse survivors and enhance the voice of the child in private law proceedings.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 03/03/2023 14:32:35 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4779 label Biography information for Taiwo Owatemi

1367044

registered interest
date	08/11/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the implementation of the recommendations made by his Department's expert panel on reforming the family court response to domestic abuse, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that accurate data is collected on the (a) number of allegations made of parental alienation and (b) outcome of child contact in cases where those allegations are made.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Apsana Begum
uin	71485
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2021 answer text <p>Incidences of alleged parental alienation by either parent in relation to family proceedings about child arrangements are not recorded centrally. Such information can only be obtained from individual case files at disproportionate cost.</p><p>In assessing the child’s best interests, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) assess and report any concerns about alienating behaviours to the court, focusing on the impact on the child’s safety and welfare and in the context of wider family dynamics. Parents are also able to inform the court of any concerns they may have about the other parent. Cafcass’ Child Impact Assessment Framework includes various tools and guidance that further support social work practitioners in identifying where a child expresses reluctance to have an ongoing relationship with a parent, including domestic abuse, persistent and harmful conflict and alienating behaviours.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 71484 question first answered 19/11/2021 12:19:13 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4790 label Biography information for Apsana Begum

1361504

registered interest
date	19/10/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure the delays in family courts do not result in further abuse of former partners.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff North
tabling member printed	Anna McMorrin
uin	59001
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2021 answer text <p>This government is determined to protect and support the victims of domestic abuse and their children better. We recognise the additional pressures that the family justice system has faced since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact this has had on children and families who use the family courts. Cases with the most significant safeguarding issues remain our priority, and where suitable, cases are being heard remotely to continue maximising our use of our estate.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has been prioritising certain cases for processing. The ‘highest priority’ category in private law includes urgent applications in children cases, domestic abuse injunctions and urgent applications in financial remedy cases and decrees absolute. When an application for a domestic abuse injunction is received, there is a requirement for court staff to refer the application to a judge within three hours of receipt and inform the applicant or their legal representative of the next steps.</p><p> </p><p>This year, the government will be providing around £300m for victim and witness support services. This includes £800k funding per year to the FLOWS project, run by RCJ Advice, to provide free legal support to victims of domestic abuse who wish to apply for an emergency protective order from the courts.</p><p> </p><p>Where there are divorce proceedings, either party may apply for a financial order at any time and do not need to wait until the divorce is finalised to seek financial freedom. A respondent to the divorce proceedings can ask the court to delay the divorce until the court is satisfied with their financial situation.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 59002 question first answered 27/10/2021 16:41:42 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4632 label Biography information for Anna McMorrin

1361508

registered interest
date	19/10/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure delays in family courts are not used to further financially control a former partner.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff North
tabling member printed	Anna McMorrin
uin	59002
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2021 answer text <p>This government is determined to protect and support the victims of domestic abuse and their children better. We recognise the additional pressures that the family justice system has faced since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact this has had on children and families who use the family courts. Cases with the most significant safeguarding issues remain our priority, and where suitable, cases are being heard remotely to continue maximising our use of our estate.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has been prioritising certain cases for processing. The ‘highest priority’ category in private law includes urgent applications in children cases, domestic abuse injunctions and urgent applications in financial remedy cases and decrees absolute. When an application for a domestic abuse injunction is received, there is a requirement for court staff to refer the application to a judge within three hours of receipt and inform the applicant or their legal representative of the next steps.</p><p> </p><p>This year, the government will be providing around £300m for victim and witness support services. This includes £800k funding per year to the FLOWS project, run by RCJ Advice, to provide free legal support to victims of domestic abuse who wish to apply for an emergency protective order from the courts.</p><p> </p><p>Where there are divorce proceedings, either party may apply for a financial order at any time and do not need to wait until the divorce is finalised to seek financial freedom. A respondent to the divorce proceedings can ask the court to delay the divorce until the court is satisfied with their financial situation.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 59001 question first answered 27/10/2021 16:41:42 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4632 label Biography information for Anna McMorrin

1183025

registered interest
date	05/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to protect survivors of domestic abuse from further trauma in the family courts.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Yardley
tabling member printed	Jess Phillips
uin	25674
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2020 answer text <p>Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we are determined to better protect and support the victims of abuse and their children, and bring perpetrators to justice.</p><p> </p><p>In May 2019, we announced a public call for evidence led by a panel of experts to help us better understand victims’ experiences of the system, and make sure the family court is never used to coerce or re-traumatise those who have been abused.</p><p> </p><p>The panel are in the process of drafting their report and recommendations for next steps, which will be published in the Spring.</p><p> </p><p>The Domestic Abuse Bill, reintroduced on March 3<sup>rd</sup>, also includes a provision to prohibit perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in the family courts in England and Wales and the Government has agreed to widen the range of evidence which will trigger the automatic ban, in line with the legal aid regime.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 13/03/2020 10:51:41 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4370 label Biography information for Jess Phillips

1168973

registered interest
date	06/01/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on his Department's review of domestic abuse and the family courts.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
uin	484
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2020 answer text <p>On 21 May 2019 we announced a public call for evidence led by a panel of experts to gather evidence on how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences.</p><p> </p><p>The panel completed the call for evidence in September 2019, and published a Progress Update in October outlining the work completed and next steps.</p><p> </p><p>The panel has been meeting regularly to discuss the wealth of evidence collected from 1,200 individuals and organisations, and are in the process of drafting their report. This will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 13/01/2020 14:14:49 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh