Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stalking protection orders were issued in each of the last five years; and what proportion of stalking cases reported to the police resulted in a stalking protection order in each of those years.

Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) were introduced on 20 January 2020 to protect victims of stalking at the earliest possible opportunity and address the perpetrator’s behaviours before they become entrenched or escalate in severity, by placing restrictions and requirements on those perpetrating stalking behaviours.

From February 2020 to December 2020, 413 Stalking Protection Orders (245 interim and 168 full orders) were issued in England and Wales. From January 2021 to December 2021, 583 (330 interim and 253 full orders) were issued in England and Wales. These statistics can be found here: Management information: Stalking Protection Orders - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), alongside a review which the Home Office conducted of how SPOs operated during their first 12 months. We aim to publish data on Stalking Protection Orders for 2022 and 2023 in due course.

Data is not available on the proportion of stalking cases reported to the police which resulted in a Stalking Protection Order.