Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of recent reductions in police numbers on police forces' responses to domestic violence.

We recognise that there are significant demands on the police from the changing nature of crime, with more victims of high harm crimes such as domestic abuse coming forward. The provisional 2019/20 police funding settlement announced on 13 December builds on this year’s total increase in police funding of £460m. The police workforce has remained stable over the past year and the number of people joining police forces has increased by 58% since 2015/16.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Service’s last inspection into domestic abuse found that police forces in England and Wales have a strong commitment to protecting victims of domestic abuse. Forces are continuing to invest in public protection and staff numbers have increased in many safeguarding units, with people being moved from other departments to provide more resilience.