Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times police were called to deal with incidents in (a) hotels, (b) processing centres and (c) other accommodation used for asylum seekers since 1 January 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Security and support staff are on site 24 hours a day and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the safety of vulnerable residents and to mitigate any risks to them and the wider community.
We regularly engage with accommodation providers and, where necessary, work with providers to put additional measures in place. This will include working with other Statutory bodies including Police to investigate any potential criminal activities
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of criminal damage at asylum seeker accommodation there have been since 1 January 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not hold this information.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much repair to damage at asylum seeker accommodation has cost since 1 January 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not hold this information.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what protections are in place for spouses who are victims of domestic abuse seeking a divorce.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling domestic abuse is a key priority for this Government and we are committed to protecting all victims of domestic abuse. To gain protection during divorce proceedings, victims can apply for a protection order. A Non-Molestation Order protects the victim and relevant child from abuse or harassment and an Occupation Order can prevent the person subject to the order from coming near to the family home. In addition, following an incident of violence, or the threat of violence, the police can apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Notice (DVPN) to provide immediate protection to the victim, which can then be followed by a Domestic Violence Protection Order in a magistrate's court.
The landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduces a wide-ranging definition of domestic abuse, and further protection to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthens measures to bring perpetrators to justice. The Act introduced the new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN) and Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO), which will provide flexible, longer-term protection for victims from all forms of domestic abuse. The Government is currently undergoing extensive work to prepare the new order for piloting from next year.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 also extends the controlling and coercive behaviour offence to apply to ex-partners or family members who do not live together to ensure the protection of individuals from harm after separation or divorce.
Accompanying this legislation, in July 2022, the Government published detailed statutory guidance to ensure that domestic abuse is properly understood by public agencies seeking to tackle this abhorrent crime and provide appropriate support to victims.
The guidance outlines the many forms domestic abuse can take, including in a marital setting and the barriers preventing victims from seeking a divorce. It also recognises specific forms of faith related abuse including coercion to enter into a marriage and the withholding of a religious divorce, as a threat to control and intimidate victims which can be present in different forms under different faiths. The guidance makes clear that safeguarding remains the utmost priority and all victims should be encouraged by the agencies and organisations they encounter to take appropriate steps to protect themselves from harm.
The Home Office is also planning to double funding for survivors of sexual violence and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline by 2024-25, and further increase funding for all the national helplines it supports. Our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan invests £140 million to support victims, including over £47 million in ringfenced funding for victims’ services and £27 million is currently ringfenced funding for 700 ISVAs and IDVAs.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are in place to protect female victims of domestic abuse during a police investigation.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to protecting all victims of domestic abuse and is working in partnership with police forces across England and Wales to keep victims safe.
The police have measures at their disposal to protect victims of domestic abuse during a police investigation. These include pre-charge bail conditions and protective orders such as Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPO). Following an incident of violence, or the threat of violence, the police can apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Notice (DVPN) to provide immediate protection to the victim for 48 hours by, for example, prohibiting the person subject to the notice from contacting the victim. The DVPN is then followed by a DVPO in a magistrate’s court.
In the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Government committed to launching a new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Order, to be piloted from next year. These will go even further in protecting victims from all forms of domestic abuse. This will include making a breach of a new order a criminal offence and having no minimum or maximum duration. The Government is currently undergoing extensive work to prepare the new order for piloting from next year.
To strengthen the police response to cases of domestic abuse and help domestic abuse victims and survivors, the Government also committed in the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan up to £3.3 million over three years to support the rollout of the Domestic Abuse Matters training, to forces which have yet to deliver it, or do not have their own specific domestic abuse training. This training developed by the College of Policing in conjunction with SafeLives and with input from Women’s Aid, aims to ensure the police know how to best respond to victims of domestic abuse, understanding its impact on victims, and standardises the police response to domestic abuse.
We continue to work closely with the College to encourage the remaining forces to take up the Domestic Abuse Matters programme.
The Home Office is also planning to double funding for survivors of sexual violence and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline by 2024-25, and further increase funding for all the national helplines it supports. Our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan invests £140 million to support victims, including over £47 million in ringfenced funding for victims’ services and £27 million is currently ringfenced funding for 700 ISVAs and IDVAs.