Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with representatives of charities that specialise in support for victims of domestic violence since March 2020.

The Government recognises the important role domestic abuse charities play in providing vital support to victims and sharing their expertise to help improve our response to this horrific crime. This is why ministers meet regularly with a range of sector organisations, as well as with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, who works to ensure that views of victims and the support sector are conveyed to the Government.

Details of ministerial meetings, including with domestic abuse charities, are published proactively on gov.uk. The most recent release for the Ministry of Justice can be found at https://www.gov.uk/search/transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases?parent=%2Fgovernment%2Fgovernment-efficiency-transparency-and-accountability&topic=f3f4b5d3-49c4-487b-bd5b-be75f11ec8c5&organisations%5B%5D=ministry-of-justice&order=updated-newest. Updated information will be published shortly.

In March 2020, the Ministry of Justice also established the Victim and Witness Silver Command Group as a Covid-19 crisis management group to identify and respond to developing risks and issues likely to impact on victim and witness strategy, policy or operational effectiveness. The Group includes representatives from a range of domestic abuse organisations and continues to meet on a fortnightly basis.

We are determined to do more to protect victims and recently announced £40m for specialist rape and domestic abuse support services, on top of an extra £125m for local authorities to help provide safe accommodation for victims and their children. On 15^th March, the government announced an additional £11m to recruit more Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors over the next two years.