Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department (a) issues guidance and (b) requires mandatory training for police officers on the link between violence against (i) women and girls and (b) animals.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Domestic abuse can affect all parts of a victim’s life and relationships including, for example, through threats and harm to pets as a means of control. The Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance that accompanies the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 provides an explanation of the different characteristics of domestic abuse and includes reference to how pets can be used by perpetrators.
We are working with the new National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Public Protection to build on and enhance police training in tackling VAWG, including ensuring it is up to date to equip officers with knowledge on emerging issues and using the latest research to improve how it is delivered. This will mean training is strengthened at each level, from the front line to senior leadership.
The new National Centre, in which we are investing £13.1 million, will help deliver our manifesto commitment for strengthened specialist training for officers across the country ensuring they offer consistent protection for victims and relentlessly pursue perpetrators.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the Child Maintenance Service being used in coercive and controlling behaviour by abusive ex-partners (a) by malicious reporting to the (i) police and (ii) social services and (b) in general.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service is committed to ensuring that it delivers a safe service that is sensitive to the needs of all the parents that use its service. We recognise that some parents may face difficult circumstances, particularly at a time of separation.
All caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps to support vulnerable clients, including those facing domestic abuse. However, the department has no jurisdiction relating to Police or Social Services investigations.
The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, which is regularly reviewed and strengthened on the basis of customer insight.
A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. This included removing Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster and explore how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported. This goes further than the proposal in the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act which received royal assent in July 2023.
This proposal would also reduce the ability for perpetrators of domestic abuse to inflict economic control and coercion through withholding child maintenance payments. The consultation closed on 30 September 2024, and the Government will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department makes available to local authorities for community-based behaviour change programmes for (a) high risk and (b) medium risk perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this government, and we have committed to use every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence.
The Home Office Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission domestic abuse and stalking perpetrator interventions in their local area to reduce reoffending and protect victim-survivors. For financial year 2025-26, over £19 million of funding has been continued to 27 PCC areas.
The interventions delivered by PCCs include behaviour change programmes for perpetrators at different risk levels, or other interventions to support a reduction in reoffending, and may also be used for victim support services which sit alongside perpetrator intervention programmes.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding is available to local authorities for community-based behaviour change programmes for (a) high-risk and (b) medium-risk perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this government, and we have committed to use every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence.
The Home Office Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission domestic abuse and stalking perpetrator interventions in their local area to reduce reoffending and protect victim-survivors. For financial year 2025-26, over £19 million of funding has been continued to 27 PCC areas.
The interventions delivered by PCCs include behaviour change programmes for perpetrators at different risk levels, or other interventions to support a reduction in reoffending, and may also be used for victim support services which sit alongside perpetrator intervention programmes.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the average time taken for Serco to tag (a) priority one critical offenders and (b) people classified as likely to offend.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Serco’s performance has been unacceptable, and we will not hesitate to impose further penalties if our high-performance targets are not met and performance does not improve. There are regular meetings between the Minister for Prisons and Probation and the CEO of Serco to impress upon him the need for improvement.
The contract contains strict time bound service levels within which all equipment installations for all electronic monitoring orders must take place. In addition, the small number of national security cases and those requiring more intensive monitoring plus Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence and those with Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPO) are prioritised. Electronic monitoring orders are identified by order type and terms such as priority one critical offenders and people classified as likely to offend are not used.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she had made of the adequacy of Serco's performance; and if she will undertake a review of it's electronic tagging contract.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Serco’s performance has been unacceptable, and we will not hesitate to impose further penalties if our high-performance targets are not met and performance does not improve. There are regular meetings between the Minister for Prisons and Probation and the CEO of Serco to impress upon him the need for improvement.
The contract contains strict time bound service levels within which all equipment installations for all electronic monitoring orders must take place. In addition, the small number of national security cases and those requiring more intensive monitoring plus Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence and those with Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPO) are prioritised. Electronic monitoring orders are identified by order type and terms such as priority one critical offenders and people classified as likely to offend are not used.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to address the backlog in fitting offenders with electronic monitoring tags.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Serco’s performance has been unacceptable, and we will not hesitate to impose further penalties if our high-performance targets are not met and performance does not improve. There are regular meetings between the Minister for Prisons and Probation and the CEO of Serco to impress upon him the need for improvement.
The contract contains strict time bound service levels within which all equipment installations for all electronic monitoring orders must take place. In addition, the small number of national security cases and those requiring more intensive monitoring plus Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence and those with Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPO) are prioritised. Electronic monitoring orders are identified by order type and terms such as priority one critical offenders and people classified as likely to offend are not used.
Asked by: Kanishka Narayan (Labour - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls; and what support is being provided to local police forces and frontline services in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have already announced a series of measures designed to strengthen the police response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), protect victims and hold perpetrators to account across England and Wales. This includes:
The Home Office also continues to fund a range of organisations providing vital frontline support to victims of VAWG.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse in all its forms as part of our unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We have already announced a series of bold measures designed to strengthen the police response to domestic abuse, protect victims and hold perpetrators to account.
In February, under a new approach named 'Raneem's Law', the first domestic abuse specialists were embedded in 999 control rooms in five police forces to advise on risk assessments, work with officers on the ground and ensure that victims are referred to appropriate support services swiftly.
To further strengthen protections for victims, in November 2024 we launched new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) in selected police forces and courts - which is a huge step towards a new national approach. On 5 March, we expanded the use of DAPOs to Cleveland and we plan to onboard North Wales in the coming months - offering access to these new orders to a greater number of victims. The new DAPO brings together the strongest element of the existing protective order regime into a single comprehensive, flexible order.
On 28 November 2024, the Government announced a funding increase of £30 million, meaning a total investment of £160 million in the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant in 2025-26. This will enable local authorities to invest in essential support in frontline safe accommodation services.
We are determined to deliver a cross-Government transformative approach to halving violence against women and girls, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published this year.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) help tackle domestic abuse and (b) improve support services for domestic abuse survivors in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade and will treat it as the national emergency that it is. The Government has increased funding to all local authorities to £160 million for 2025-26, an uplift of £30 million from the previous year, to provide further support in safe accommodation for domestic abuse survivors. We will deliver a cross-Government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy published later this year. This will take into account the needs of all victims, including those in rural areas.
The Government has committed to introduce domestic abuse specialists in every 999 control room, under a new approach named Raneem's Law. Delivery began in February, with the first specialists embedded in five police forces to support and improve the police response to victims of domestic abuse.
We have launched new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) in three select areas and with the British Transport Police. These orders are the first to introduce a robust range of restrictions for perpetrators such as the ability to impose electronic tagging and attendance on behaviour change programmes, substance misuse and mental health interventions.
The health sector has a vital role to play in preventing, identifying and responding to violence and abuse, and providing healthcare to victims. Domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) is more likely to be disclosed to a healthcare professional than any other professional. Therefore, it is vital that all health professionals including GPs, midwives and health visitors recognise the signs early and know how to respond. DHSC has published and disseminated a working definition of trauma informed practice for the health and care sector.