Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is provided to magistrates and judges in the Cardiff courts in understanding coercive and controlling behaviours; and if she will make a statement.

Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, responsibility for the training of the judiciary rests with the Lord Chief Justice as Head of the Judiciary. This is exercised through the Judicial College under judicial direction.

Induction and continuation courses made available across the judiciary in England and Wales cover domestic abuse, and content is refreshed regularly. As part of the magistrates’ minimum training requirements, they must attend face to face freestanding domestic abuse training. Training for magistrates, particularly in the adult and family courts, contain significant exercises looking at the dynamics of domestic abuse and the statutory tools available to them in domestic abuse cases. Where Magistrates sit in the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts, they receive additional specialist training.