Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Clare’s Law.

We know that more needs to be done to address issues and inconsistencies in the way that the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (also known as ‘Clare’s Law’) is currently being implemented across forces in England and Wales.

In the recently published Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, the Home Office committed to working with the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection and the Independent Office for Police Conduct to create a clearer, more consistent framework for police and other agencies to improve implementation of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme and to explore the potential to expand the Scheme to other forms of violence against women and girls.

The National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection is working closely with two academics to carry out studies on the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. The outcomes of these studies will play a critical role in shaping the changes and improvements we plan to introduce to strengthen the Scheme. The Home Office is also working to develop and roll out a digital tool to support the police to make better decisions when disclosing information.