Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of honour based violence due to forced marriage there were in the (a) UK and (b) devolved Administration in each of the last three years.

The Home Office holds data on the number of police recorded forced marriage offences in England and Wales. The data are given in the table. Police recorded offences in Northern Ireland and Scotland are the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Scottish Government respectively.

As with all police recorded crime figures, these data only cover offences that were reported to and recorded by the police. It is recognised that force marriage is a hidden crime and victims can be reluctant to bring them to the attention of police or other authorities. These data, therefore, are likely to only represent a proportion of the actual forced marriage offences committed.

The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) provides support and advice for victims, those at risk, and professionals, through its public helpline and inbox.

We are working to increase reporting of this crime which is why the FMU has an extensive outreach programme to provide dedicated training and awareness raising sessions for professionals and communities across the country, including the police and social workers. In 2023, the FMU delivered training and awareness-raising activity to 3,656 police officers, social workers and other professionals. Victims and organisations are encouraged to report potential signs of forced marriage to professionals with safeguarding responsibilities.