Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the new specific offence of strangulation and suffocation in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and (b) the Home Secretary on providing (i) forensic and (ii) support services to victims who have been strangled in a domestic abuse setting.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The new offence of non-fatal strangulation, in section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, comes into force early next month. There will be media communications to mark the introduction and the Government will continue to highlight the dangers that can result from strangulation and suffocation.
Regarding training, NHS England is also funding a free online training event to occur in late June which is aimed at NHS front line staff including paramedics, GP practices and A&E staff, Domestic Abuse Partnerships, non-Government offices, staff in the statutory domestic abuse and sexual assault sector, the police, prosecutors, social work, judges and magistrates, probation and psychologists. The judiciary, who are independent of Government, will – through the Judicial College – consider whether specific training and/or wider training on domestic abuse is necessary.
Building on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Government has 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. The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan also contains a perpetrator Strategy which sets out clear commitments to prioritise addressing domestic abuse, with the aim of preventing people becoming perpetrators and victims in the first place. Additionally, through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, victims will be given 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.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to raise public awareness of (a) the dangers of strangulation, (b) that a person can die after seconds of strangulation, (c) that survivors may have no visible marks yet have serious medical consequences and (d) victims of strangulation are seven times more likely to subsequently be murdered.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The new offence of non-fatal strangulation, in section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, comes into force early next month. There will be media communications to mark the introduction and the Government will continue to highlight the dangers that can result from strangulation and suffocation.
Regarding training, NHS England is also funding a free online training event to occur in late June which is aimed at NHS front line staff including paramedics, GP practices and A&E staff, Domestic Abuse Partnerships, non-Government offices, staff in the statutory domestic abuse and sexual assault sector, the police, prosecutors, social work, judges and magistrates, probation and psychologists. The judiciary, who are independent of Government, will – through the Judicial College – consider whether specific training and/or wider training on domestic abuse is necessary.
Building on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Government has 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. The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan also contains a perpetrator Strategy which sets out clear commitments to prioritise addressing domestic abuse, with the aim of preventing people becoming perpetrators and victims in the first place. Additionally, through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, victims will be given 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.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when Section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act relating to the specific offence of strangulation and suffocation will be enforced.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The new offence of non-fatal strangulation, in section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, comes into force early next month. There will be media communications to mark the introduction and the Government will continue to highlight the dangers that can result from strangulation and suffocation.
Regarding training, NHS England is also funding a free online training event to occur in late June which is aimed at NHS front line staff including paramedics, GP practices and A&E staff, Domestic Abuse Partnerships, non-Government offices, staff in the statutory domestic abuse and sexual assault sector, the police, prosecutors, social work, judges and magistrates, probation and psychologists. The judiciary, who are independent of Government, will – through the Judicial College – consider whether specific training and/or wider training on domestic abuse is necessary.
Building on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Government has 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. The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan also contains a perpetrator Strategy which sets out clear commitments to prioritise addressing domestic abuse, with the aim of preventing people becoming perpetrators and victims in the first place. Additionally, through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, victims will be given 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.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the accommodation needs of women on remand who may not have access to housing support under the probation service.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We know women released from prison face significant barriers to securing suitable accommodation and that earlier support, whilst they are on remand, to find accommodation can help.
Women on remand are supported to meet their immediate resettlement needs and prepare for release by probation pre-release staff in prisons. We have committed to supplementing the existing support from probation staff with access to specialist accommodation, finance and debt support for all women on remand or sentenced in custody. We aim to have commenced this additional provision by the summer of this year.
In 2021, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) introduced Housing Specialists in twenty prisons, including four women’s prisons namely HMP Styal, Bronzefield, Peterborough and New Hall. The role of these specialists is to support prisons and probation in their strategic response to reducing homelessness. This includes working in partnership internally across HMPPS and externally with Local Authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and organisations contracted to provide specialist support, to develop or strengthen accommodation pathways on release from prison. We have committed to increase the number of Housing Specialists to 48 across England and Wales, including across the women’s estate.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to consult on a statutory duty on public bodies to commission specialist community based (a) domestic abuse and (b) sexual violence provision as set out by the Lord Chancellor in a letter to Police and Crime Commissioners dated March 2021.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is committed to using the Victims’ Bill consultation to explore the need for legislation relating to provision of community-based victim support services.
The March letter to Police and Crime Commissioners said that to do this we would consult on “the provision of community-based domestic abuse services”, including considering a “duty”. This commitment was made during the passage of the Domestic Abuse Bill and was extended to cover consultation on sexual violence services within the End-to End Rape Review Action Plan. We will launch the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the funding required to meet the needs of (a) adult and (b) child victims of domestic abuse annually in England and Wales.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
For 2020/21, the Ministry of Justice allocated £69m of ‘core’ funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission and provide victim support services for all victims of crime. It is for PCCs to assess local demand and allocate this funding accordingly.
A further £32 million was granted in emergency funding to over 540 charities to help domestic abuse and sexual violence community based services meet demand.
The Home Office also provided funding for both national and community-based domestic violence victim support services and funding to tackle and better manage perpetrators of domestic violence.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding the Government has allocated for the provision of community-based domestic abuse services for (a) adult victims, (b) child victims and (c) perpetrators of domestic abuse in 2020-21.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
For 2020/21, the Ministry of Justice allocated £69m of ‘core’ funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission and provide victim support services for all victims of crime. It is for PCCs to assess local demand and allocate this funding accordingly.
A further £32 million was granted in emergency funding to over 540 charities to help domestic abuse and sexual violence community based services meet demand.
The Home Office also provided funding for both national and community-based domestic violence victim support services and funding to tackle and better manage perpetrators of domestic violence.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in the last full reporting year what the average sentence was for people convicted of a contact child sex offence.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice has published information on proceedings and outcomes for child sexual offences in the ‘Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool’, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/938554/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx.
A full list of child sexual offences can be found in the table attached to the response to PQ 266750 (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2019-06-19/266750).
All of the offences listed in the table are contact child sexual offences, apart from the following:
The average custodial sentence length for offenders convicted of contact child sexual offences in 2019 was 5 years and 2 months (61.5 months).
Court statistics on proceedings and outcomes for 2020 will be published in May 2021.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps family courts take to ensure that children’s wishes are central to decisions made on their lives.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 requires that the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration in all decisions made about them. In their consideration, the court must have regard to the factors set out at 1(3) of the Children Act 1989, referred to as the ‘welfare checklist’. These include the ascertainable wishes and feeling of the child, commensurate with their age and level of understanding, and any harm which he has suffered or is at risk of suffering.
In addition, for every public law case, the child is appointed a CAFCASS Guardian who specifically represent the interests and wishes of the child involved. In complex private law cases, CAFCASS undertakes direct work with the child when directed to do so by the court, for cases that continue after the first hearing. This includes speaking with children to ascertain their wishes and feelings to produce a Section 7 welfare report into the child’s welfare needs.
The Domestic Abuse Bill rightly recognises children as victims of domestic abuse and it is important that their voices are heard in family court proceedings.
In response to the Ministry of Justice’s Harm Panel report, the Government committed to exploring how to enhance the voice of the child in private law proceedings to ensure children’s wishes and views are central to proceedings concerning them. This will be done through a series of private law reform pilots, including the Integrated Domestic Abuse Court, and we intend to launch these pilots later this year.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what oversight there is to ensure court and children’s guardians carry out their role effectively and safely.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The work of children’s guardians employed by Cafcass is internally assessed in line with its quality assurance and impact framework. Cafcass has a number of internal case supervision and quality assurance processes, which are a top priority for the organisation, particularly in relation to the quality and impact of work and its added value for the child.
There is a rolling area quality review programme which looks at the quality of service provided by Cafcass within a specific service area. This programme includes feedback from children. Cafcass has also developed and implemented a series of Performance Boards across the country to share learning, good practice and develop improvement plans. These boards bring together members of the management team to review practice, continue to build on existing strengths and commit to an annual improvement programme.
Externally, the Ministry of Justice monitors the work of Cafcass as an arm’s length body through a proportionate system of oversight in line with the Cabinet Office’s ‘Partnerships with arm's length bodies: code of good practice’. This includes reviewing Key Performance Indicators and quality data on a regular basis, along with quarterly holding to account meetings with senior Cafcass executives.
Cafcass’s services are subject to inspections by Ofsted and received an overall judgement of outstanding at its last inspection, with a finding that “a rigorous, strength-based performance framework supports the delivery of good and outstanding services nationally and locally”. Children’s guardians provided by Cafcass are all qualified social workers registered with Social Work England, the specialist regulator.