Independent Office for Police Conduct
Baroness Meacher Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. I must be honest, I do not have that information in front of me but I will report back to the police Minister. A police grant was published yesterday and is open for consultation. I am not aware of the particular request from the police and crime commissioner but I will follow up with my colleague and write to the noble Baroness with the detail of whether and how it is being progressed. Self-evidently, having three salaries for a chief constable is not a good use of public money.
Baroness Meacher (CB)
My Lords, having worked at the Police Complaints Authority for a number of years, I was impressed evermore by the extraordinary behaviour of the police officers who showed incredible restraint in the face of endless rudeness and offensiveness on the part of various members of the public. I wonder if the Minister has had similar experience of the police.
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
As a Minister, my dealings with the police on a day-to-day basis are varied. I have found the police to be professional, forward-looking and aware of the need for accountability because they are exercising strong powers on behalf of the public at large. The purpose of the IOPC, its accountability to Ministers and the framework that we as Ministers set, is about making sure the police retain the confidence of the public they serve and maintain their security. Without that security and confidence, the police cannot operate in an effective way in policing our communities. That is part of the reason why the forthcoming White Paper will look at how we can improve standards, the management of standards and the level of accountability.
Domestic Abuse: Victims and Survivors
Baroness Meacher Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Gohir (CB)
I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Chisholm, for securing this debate. I declare my interest as CEO of Muslim Women’s Network UK. I shall focus on four points: funding, domestic homicide rates among minority ethnic women, spiritual abuse, and transnational abandonment.
No funding was pledged to tackle domestic abuse in the last Budget, which was surprising given Labour’s manifesto commitment to reduce violence against women and girls by 50%. The current funding crisis and the rise in employer national insurance will result in many women’s organisations scaling back their services, taking away vital support for domestic abuse victims. Can the Minister provide assurance that the next Budget will announce funding to tackle domestic abuse?
Domestic homicide rates for minority ethnic women are around 22% higher. This issue can be addressed only if we know why it is happening. Will the Government agree to carry out a public consultation exercise to find out what the contributing factors are to the higher rates? This will help to save lives.
Spiritual abuse is not legally defined and is not limited to abuse by faith leaders. It is also a form of domestic abuse, where families and partners may misuse religion to control and manipulate women and children in particular. A legal definition could help to better recognise this form of abuse and hold perpetrators to account. Will the Government consider having a legal definition of spiritual abuse? Will the Minister write to me about the number of spiritual abuse cases recorded by the police in the last five years?
Transnational abandonment is another form of domestic abuse. This is when—usually—a husband takes his wife abroad on the pretence of a holiday and leaves her there, sometimes with children. The wife is usually on a spousal visa waiting for indefinite leave to remain. Helplines such as the one that I run are then left to apply for documents and pay for flights to get the women and children back into the UK. In the first six months of 2024, there were 28 transnational abandonment cases.
Being abandoned in this way is traumatising. It is time to make this a specific criminal offence. Perpetrators need to be held accountable for treating women as though they are property that can be discarded in this way. Recently in Australia, a man who had deceived his wife into leaving the country left her in Sudan. He was then convicted of exit trafficking and sentenced to more than four years in prison. It is time for perpetrators of this type of domestic abuse to also be convicted in the UK. Will the Government consider a law change here?
Baroness Meacher (CB)
My Lords, may I make a brief intervention to suggest that it is not always men abusing women? I am very familiar with women who control the behaviour and lives of their spouses, over many years, with threats that often involve children.