Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his estimate he has made of the number of people convicted of an offence involving domestic abuse who were also involved in digital or cyber-crime against the same victim in each of the last three years.

This Government is committed to ensuring that victims of crime have access to high-quality, effective and timely support to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. Support is offered irrespective of whether the crime has been reported to the police, and includes where someone has been the victim of digital or online crime.

In September last year, the Government published “Our Commitment to Victims”, which included a commitment to establish a new nationwide Victims’ Information Service. This will provide the first ‘one stop shop’ to ensure better information and support is available and easily accessible to any victim of crime– whether that be searching for local support services or finding out more about to expect from the Criminal Justice System.

We implemented a new Victims’ Code in December 2013 to give victims of crime clearer entitlements throughout the criminal justice process following their reporting of a crime to the police. This includes the entitlement to make a Victim Personal Statement (VPS), which gives victims a stronger voice as they are able to explain to the court how the crime has personally affected them. The Victims’ Code also entitles victims of the most serious crime, persistently targeted victims and vulnerable and intimidated victims to enhanced services and support, such as receiving information on pre-trial therapy and counselling. The new Victims’ Code also includes an improved section on complaints, and it explains who the victim should contact and what to expect if things go wrong.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has made more money than ever before available for victims’ support services in England and Wales, increasing the contribution offenders make to the costs of providing support and almost doubling the budget in previous years of circa £50m, with the majority allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to ensure local provision of support for victims matches local need.

In relation to the number of people convicted of an offence involving domestic abuse who were also involved in digital or cyber-crime against the same victim in each of the last three years, data is not centrally collected and recorded upon which actual figures or an estimate could be provided.