Question to the Ministry of Justice:

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.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

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.

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.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Ministry of Justice has to undertake post-legislative review of (1) the Civil Liability Act 2018, (2) the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018, (3) the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, (4) the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, (5) the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act 2020, (6) the Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020, (7) the Sentencing Act 2020, and (8) the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act 2020, in line with the policy of reviewing Acts three to five years after enactment

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

All bills that have reached Royal Assent are eligible for post-legislative scrutiny three to five years after they are enacted. Post-legislative scrutiny memoranda have been published on GOV.UK where bills have undergone the process. In addition, the Lords Special Inquiry Committee appointed to carry out post-legislative scrutiny on specific Acts publishes information on its inquiries on parliament.uk.

It is also important to note that post-legislative scrutiny is not the only way policy is reviewed. Many Acts have built-in statutory review mechanisms and consultations have also been launched. This has the effect of providing opportunities for the legislation to be reviewed and assessed without requiring post-legislative scrutiny.

There is no planned timetable for post-legislative scrutiny of the Acts mentioned in this question.

Found: cannot be relied upon for justification, it notes that similar power is found, for example, in the Divorce

Found: In April 2022, we implemented the new no fault divorce measures in the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation

Found: In April 2022, we implemented the new no fault divorce measures in the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation