Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for (a) non-molestation orders and (b) ex parte non-molestation orders were (i) made and (ii) declined in each of the last five years.

Non-molestation orders are made by the court to protect individuals from the harm of domestic violence. They can, where necessary, extend to protect children.

Non-molestation applications are either made ‘without notice’ to the respondent, (formerly known as ex-parte applications) usually if the applicant is seeking immediate protection, or ‘on notice’ to the respondent.

The number of applications for non-molestation orders made in each of the last five years, split into ‘without notice’ and ‘with notice’ applications, is shown in table 1. For the same period, and in the same way, table 2 lists the number of applications for non-molestation orders declined and table 3 lists the number of non-molestation orders made. The data covers England and Wales.