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173675

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued on the treatment in the criminal treatment system of women experiencing domestic violence.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	220702
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Domestic abuse is the worst possible violation of the trust that those in close relationships place in one another. That is why tackling domestic violence and abuse has been one of this Government’s top priorities. We are committed to ensuring that victims of this serious crime are considered in all aspects of the criminal justice system, and supported appropriately.</p><p> </p><p>The Victims’ Code was implemented in December 2013. It sets out to criminal justice agencies the enhanced services and support they must provide to victims of the most serious crimes, including victims of domestic violence. This includes providing information on pre-trial therapy and counselling and referral to specialist organisations for support.</p><p>As part of the current pilot of adult out-of-court disposals, the Ministry of Justice has issued guidance to the three participating police forces (Staffordshire, West Yorkshire, and Leicestershire) setting out how the framework should be used for low-level offences involving domestic violence. The guidance imposes a number of restrictions on the forces and requires them to obtain the victim’s consent for the matter to be dealt with out of court.</p><p>In addition, the National Offender Management Service’s framework <em>Supporting Women offenders who have experienced domestic or sexual violence</em>, published in September 2011, is designed to provide guidance to those working with female offenders in custody and the community. The framework intends to ensure that interventions and services take place within an environment in which women who have been victims of domestic violence are able to both disclose abuse and receive support and advice in a safe, female only environment.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to these pieces of guidance, my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has issued the <em>Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan</em>, which sets out the Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse, and is supported by guidance to victims, their friends, families, employers and colleagues.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 19/01/2015 17:40:36 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

170511

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many specialist domestic violence courts have closed since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
	uin	218706
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>From April 2010 Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) took responsibility for the governance and performance management of the 143 accredited Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs) across England and Wales. As of March 2014 there were 137 accredited SDVCs. However, the closure of SDVCs in some areas does not necessarily mean that provision in that area has ceased, as many of the SDVC systems cover a number of courthouses. Closure of an SDVC in one courthouse would simply mean that the case would be heard in another accredited courthouse within the Local Justice Area.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS remains committed to a partnership approach to supporting domestic violence victims going through the Criminal Justice Process.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 06/01/2015 17:14:11 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

155540

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of cases in courts marked as domestic violence incidents related to (a) male perpetrators against female partners and (b) all other forms of domestic violence in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	214191
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>This government is committed to tackling domestic violence and abuse and to delivering a better response for the victims of these appalling crimes.</p><p> </p><p>We have ring-fenced £40 million for victims’ services; piloted and rolled out Clare’s Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learnt from individual tragedies; criminalised forced marriage and consulted on the creation of a single criminal offence of domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice Court Proceeding Database holds information on offences provided by the statute under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific circumstances of each case. Data on those proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for offences involving domestic violence, such as threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between adults are not separately identified in the data reported centrally to the Ministry of Justice. Furthermore, it is not possible to separately identify the relationship between defendant and victim, and their gender. This detailed information is not reported to Justice Statistical Analytical Services due to their size and complexity and as such, it can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 21/11/2014 14:41:48 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1544216

	registered interest
	date	21/11/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Defamation Act 2013 on victims of domestic abuse and coercive control.
	tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
	tabling member printed	Apsana Begum
	uin	92371
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2022 answer text <p>A Post-Legislative Memorandum reviewing the impact of the Defamation Act 2013 was published in October 2019. The broad conclusion is that the Act ensures the right balance in law is achieved; that free speech is not unjustifiably impeded by actual or threatened libel proceedings, while ensuring that people who have been libelled are able to protect their reputation.</p><p>The fear of being threatened with libel should never stop anyone from reporting abuse.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 25/11/2022 14:24:37 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4790 label Biography information for Apsana Begum

1457989

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle levels of domestic abuse.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	154370
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>As part of the Government’s ambition to protect and better support victims of domestic abuse, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduces a range of measures to help protect victims of domestic abuse and their children. These include important new protections and support for victims ensuring that abusers will no longer be allowed to directly cross-examine their victims in the family and civil courts, and giving victims better access to special measures in the courtroom, such as protective screens and giving evidence via video link. The Act also introduces measures to tackle levels of domestic abuse including new criminal offences such as non-fatal strangulation and suffocation and extending the coercing and controlling behaviour offence to remove the “living together’’ requirement, so that the offence applies to partners, ex-partners or family members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together.</p><p> </p><p>Building on the Domestic Abuse Act, we have made substantial commitments in the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan published by the Home Office in March 2022, to better support victims of domestic abuse. Commitments include multi-year funding for victim support services which are crucial for helping victims engage in the criminal justice process. As part of this, the Ministry of Justice is bolstering support for victims by increasing its funding from £150.5m in 2021/22 to £185 million by 2024/25. This will ensure support is available to more victims and includes funding to increase the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers to over 1,000, and other key services like crisis helplines. A Perpetrator Strategy forms part of the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and sets out clear commitments to prioritise addressing behaviour, stopping people from becoming perpetrators and victims in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, we are also giving victims more time to report domestic abuse-related assaults by extending the time limit for prosecutions to six months from a formal report to the police within an overall limit of two years from the offence. We have also consulted and will publish a draft Bill which will continue to ensure victims are at the heart of the criminal justice system.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 154369 question first answered 25/04/2022 17:08:55 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1270807

	registered interest
	date	14/12/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	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 Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s 2019/2020 Annual Report: inspections of probation services, published in December 2020, if he will publish an action plan in response to the finding that checks with the local police domestic abuse team at the point of initial assessment are not being done in over a third of cases.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	128916
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2020 answer text <p>As with previous years there are no plans for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to publish an action plan in response to Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation’s (HMIP) latest Annual Report, given no specific recommendations are made like they are in Inspection Reports.</p><p> </p><p>However, Contract Management Teams continue to work closely with Community Rehabilitation Companies to ensure that any areas of improvement that have been identified by HMIP form part of an agreed internal action plan, which is monitored closely as part of contract management processes. Similarly, HM Prison and Probation Service continue to monitor National Probation Service Divisions’ progress against suggested areas of improvement or recommendations provided by HMIP.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 22/12/2020 14:58:51 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

451049

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children and women were seriously injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision to allow child access for a perpetrator of that crime in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	26114
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>Every family court has a system to support vulnerable court users. Protective measures are put in place whenever a court is aware that an individual involved in a case may be violent. These can include separate waiting areas, additional security and the use of separate entrances where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the number of children or women injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision relating to child contact is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by manually checking case files in criminal and family courts and matching records.</p><p> </p><p>The family court takes the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. Where domestic violence or abuse is admitted or proven, any child arrangements order put in place must protect the safety and wellbeing of the child and the parent with whom the child is living, and not expose them to the risk of further harm. In particular, the court must be satisfied that any contact ordered with a parent who has perpetrated violence or abuse is safe and in the best interests of the child.</p><p>Where the court does conclude that direct contact is safe and beneficial for the child, it can impose conditions such as supervised contact to protect the child.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 26113 question first answered 10/02/2016 17:30:52 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

452500

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many family courts have special access measures in place for victims of domestic violence attending the court for child contact cases.
	tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
	tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
	uin	27056
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2016 answer text <p>Every family court has a system to support vulnerable court users. Protective measures are put in place whenever this is considered to be appropriate. These can include separate waiting areas, additional security and the use of separate entrances where appropriate. Parties can also request special measures such as the use of protective screens in the hearing or the use of a video link.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 01/03/2016 09:58:31 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
	tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1136288

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of the offence of coercive control under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	272254
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>Figures on the number of defendants convicted under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 in the last 3 years can be found in the ‘Outcomes by Offence data tool’, available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802035/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802035/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsx</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Search ‘Offence’ for ‘8.21 - Engage in controlling/coercive behaviour in an intimate/family relationship.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 08/07/2019 15:04:38 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

809038

	registered interest
	date	18/12/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answers of 13 November, 28 November and 14 December 2017 to Questions 112585, 112584 and 118460 on 14 December 2017, on domestic violence: convictions and prosecutions, what that data is by fiscal year.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	120147
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2017 answer text <p>For the financial year 2015/16 there were 20 prosecutions and 2 summary convictions for the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. For the financial year 2016/7 there were 135 prosecutions and 30 summary convictions for this offence. The breakdown of this data is shown below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2015/16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>April – December 2016</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Summary convictions</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sentenced at Crown Court</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sentenced at Magistrates’ Court</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Of which:</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Immediate custodial sentence</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Of which:</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Maximum term (6 months)</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>These are cases where the controlling or coercive offence was the principal offence. Where a defendant is charged with such an offence alongside another, such as serious sexual assault, the conviction and proceeding would be identified as a sexual assault offence in the statistics.</p><p> </p><p>Court proceedings data for 2017, including the period for January to March making up the balance of the 2016/17 fiscal year, is planned for publication in May 2018</p> answering member constituency Esher and Walton answering member printed Dominic Raab question first answered 21/12/2017 15:32:27 answering member 4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson