Domestic Violence

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2014 Westminster Hall

[David Simpson]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about the courage involved in taking that action. We should encourage such organisations, but Women’s Aid and others face massive funding problems.

During the past 16 years in the Province, Women’s Aid Federation Northern Ireland managed 282,869 calls to the 24-hour domestic and sexual violence helpline. According to an estimate in the Government strategy “Tackling Violence at Home”, the cost of domestic violence in Northern Ireland, including the potential loss of economic output, could amount to somewhere in the region of £180 million each year. Women’s Aid is at the forefront of providing care and support to the victims of domestic violence. I commend it on its most recent initiative, “SOS: Save Refuges, Save Lives”. It is the victims who need to be protected and supported, so I call on the House to ensure that victims and those at risk are kept at the centre of all that we do.

UNICEF research from 2006 shows that figures on incidences per capita indicate that up to 32,000 children and young people live with domestic violence in Northern Ireland. Domestic violence has an extremely worrying effect on children. In fact, I would go as far as saying that children are the hidden victims of domestic violence. In 90% of violent incidents, children are in the same or the next room. They witness the attack and often feel compelled to intervene. Within Northern Ireland, more than 100,000 children were affected last year. Some 1,077 women and 854 children were accommodated in refuges, while 2,938 women and 3,617 children were supported to remain in their home in the community. An astounding 32,349 calls were made to the domestic violence helpline, which represented a 17% increase on the previous year. The issue therefore affects many people, male and female, as well as many thousands of children and the entire family.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr McCrea. I, too, congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. He was right to say that children are sometimes the forgotten victims, because they will bear the scars down the years. We must stop children who see such violent confrontation from thinking that that is how they should go about a relationship.

[David Simpson]

The hon. Gentleman is right that children suffer, and not only in childhood, but as they grow into adulthood. The experience remains with them and the visions of what they saw as children stick with them, and they might affect their own relationships, because they could feel that such behaviour is the right and natural thing to do.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

Once again, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr McCrea. I congratulate the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) on securing this important debate.

Domestic abuse is the silent shame that exists in all our communities. It is never the shame of those who suffer abuse at the hands of the person who is supposed to love them, yet deep shame and self-blame are often felt by victims and their families, to the point of denial that abuse is happening. Even when it is obvious to others, there is always an excuse that victims can come up with to cover their perceived shame. What assistance can victims count on when our communities have for so long lived in denial, operating a practice of non-involvement? How often have we heard, “Don’t get involved—it’s a domestic. Don’t come between a husband and a wife”?

I will focus on Scotland in my remarks, although I acknowledge that domestic violence is a country-wide problem. In Scotland, a domestic violence incident is recorded every 10 minutes. One in five Scottish women experience domestic abuse, although I concede that men also suffer it. The Scottish police recorded 60,000 incidents of domestic abuse in 2012-13, which compares with more than 59,000 incidents recorded the previous year—the figure is increasing.

No one deserves to be abused and no-one should have to put up with abuse. Domestic abuse may affect any person, regardless of class, race or age. There is no typical abuser, and about 80% of incidents of domestic violence involve men attacking women. Women have been killed because of domestic violence by former or current partners. Some 61% of incidents reported to the police in 2012-13 involved victims who had already experienced abuse in their home. That figure has not declined since last year, and is significantly higher than a few years ago.

Half of all incidents recorded by the police in Scotland last year led to the recording of a crime or offence, the most common being common assault, which accounted for 42% of all incidents. The second most common crime or offence was threatening or abusive behaviour. Incidents with a female victim and a male perpetrator represented 80% of all domestic abuse reported in Scotland last year. The reported percentage of domestic abuse suffered by males was around 20%.

Domestic abuse causes serious and long-lasting harm. Apart from physical injury, it frequently causes psychological damage, and abused people may lose their jobs or homes. Domestic abuse also affects the children who witness it. It undermines their relationship with their mother, disrupts their education and can even turn them into abusers later in life. We must stop that vicious circle.

I frequently speak to Women’s Aid in Inverclyde, which secured much needed funding from a lottery grant to hire two full-time people to work with children from households experiencing domestic violence. Those kids are often identified by their disruptive behaviour in school or falling behind in lessons through disengagement or withdrawal. I was pleased to assist Women’s Aid in Inverclyde to raise funds and to put together equipment so that they could go into schools and the community and educate the next generation that such behaviour is unacceptable. The project helps by offering more than just temporary sanctuary away from the abuser, and is helping to break the cycle.

Domestic violence corrodes and damages our communities and our society. The extent of the problem in Scotland is shocking. It is our true hidden shame. It is often, but not always, fuelled by alcohol, and over-consumption of alcohol often brings out a change in character, and a change for the worse. It is no coincidence that a Scot wrote about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and a potion releasing an evil personality. We need not look far to see where he took his inspiration from.

A recent study revealed at the Scottish Women’s Aid conference in Edinburgh showed that domestic violence in Scotland has risen by 66% in the past 10 years. That is an alarming increase. Dealing with the huge number of incidents in Scotland costs the economy £2.3 billion a year.

There is always a motivation behind the violence, whether it is physical or emotional. It is a way of maintaining control through fear. Unbelievably, many victims of domestic abuse blame themselves for the abuse. Over time, domestic abuse creates an emotional and psychological state that is unique among crimes and similar to the fear endured by survivors of violent atrocities.

It is essential to go into our schools to talk openly about this ongoing problem, and to educate the next generation that domestic abuse, whether physical, mental or sexual, is unacceptable, and in doing so hopefully to protect a future generation of women from violence. Society simply cannot go on closing our eyes and ears to domestic violence. It is disgraceful in this day and age that women are not safe in their own homes. There must be zero tolerance of domestic abuse. We must better protect women and children who survive domestic violence and give them access to specialist domestic violence services. The national network of specialist domestic violence refuges needs to be protected, a new model of funding for refuges needs to be developed, and the law needs to be strengthened to recognise coercive control, the very essence of domestic violence.

Oral Answers to Questions

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Karen Bradley)]

The Modern Slavery Bill introduces the stiffest penalty of life imprisonment for anyone convicted of the offences listed in the Bill, and that includes anyone committing those offences to a child. I am determined that we do not get into a situation where the defence has further arguments it can put forward by arguing over the age or possible age of a child which might mean the perpetrator of this heinous crime not being found guilty and not being convicted and receiving life imprisonment. I am convinced that the offences as listed cover the child exploitation cases that have been raised. I am also determined to bring this Bill forward in this Session so that we can convict people.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

Can the Minister confirm whether the Glasgow passport office offers a full passport service? If the answer is yes, will he explain why my constituents have been directed to offices as far afield as Belfast, Durham and Peterborough to pick up their passports? If the answer is no, will he tell me why does it not offer such a service?

[James Brokenshire]

Many passport offices are handling the applications that are coming through. Applications are being routed to different offices. Our focus is on ensuring that the current excessive workload is being dealt with effectively. Indeed, the Passport Office is rising to that challenge, with the output rising week on week, and our focus remains on continuing that performance.

Passport Applications

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Wednesday 18th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

Obviously, I am aware of the hon. Gentleman’s very particular constituency interest in this issue, but he does make the statement, as others do, that the Newport passport office has closed. The Newport office continues to operate as a customer support centre with 150 full-time equivalent posts.

I also want to address the allegations about a backlog and this issue about the figures. It is usual during peak periods for HMPO to operate with high numbers of passport applications in the system at any one time. This is normal work in progress. There can be 350,000 to 400,000 applications being processed at any given time. The overwhelming majority are dealt with within the three-week service standard.

As things stand, HMPO is receiving up to 150,000 domestic applications each week, and around 9,000 overseas applications. Around 480,000 applications are currently being dealt with, compared with 350,000 to 450,000 in normal circumstances. The figure will vary from week to week depending on passports issued, applications withdrawn and applications received. I should be clear about the figures. The right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford said that there was a backlog of hundreds of thousands, but there is no backlog of 480,000 cases. That number represents the total number of cases in HMPO’s system at present.

As the Prime Minister told the House last week, there is a number of straightforward cases that would ordinarily have been processed within the three-week service time that are not being processed quickly enough. That number, as of the beginning of this week, is approximately 50,000.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

Although the changes to the passport process are appreciated and welcomed, I must point out that in Scotland the holiday period comes earlier. For my constituents, the traditional holiday period starts at the beginning of July, so they have been through the turmoil. Will the Home Secretary reimburse them for the extra money they have had to pay out to get their passports?

[Mrs May]

I am well aware of the holiday period in Scotland. I have spoken to the manager of the passport office in Glasgow, and he told me about the arrangements that have been put in place to ensure that the office is dealing with the increased number of applications. For example, extra appointments are available for people who wish to bring in their applications in person.

[Mr McKenzie]

Will the Home Secretary then explain why many of my constituents are being asked to travel to Liverpool to pick up passports?

[Mrs May]

The Glasgow office is making every effort to ensure that people’s passports are being dealt with in time. It is the case that sometimes passport applications are being dealt with by other offices, but that is only when those offices have some flexibility within their system to be able to deal with those cases. This is about trying to ensure that we are dealing with the applications so that people get their passports. I am sure that that is exactly what hon. Members of this House would expect the Passport Office to do.

Her Majesty’s Passport Office has issued 3.3 million passports in the first five months of this year, compared with 2.95 million in the same period last year.[Official Report, 7 July 2014, Vol. 584, c. 2MC.] That is an unprecedented surge, but striving to meet customers’ expectations is vital even during busy periods. As I made clear last week, in the longer term the answer is to ensure that HMPO is running as efficiently and effectively as possible, and that it is as accountable as possible. As I told the House last week, I have asked the Home Office’s permanent secretary, Mark Sedwill, to conduct two reviews. The first will ensure that HMPO works as efficiently as possible, with better processes, better customer service and better outcomes. As part of that review, the head of Home Office Science will be reviewing HMPO’s forecasting model.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

As we have heard, the Government’s own passport advice website clearly states:

“It should take 3 weeks to get the passport”.

It still said that the last time I looked at it, despite the crisis outlined in detail today. One of the first things the Home Secretary could have done was update the website in order not to give people the expectation of a three-week wait. Constituents started contacting me eight weeks ago about the delays and problems they were experiencing in getting passports. As I have said, the Scottish holidays come that bit earlier and the traditional holiday period in Inverclyde means that the majority of people plan to go on a two-week holiday at the very start of July. I have seen this problem coming for some time.

The problems that people come to my office to tell me about focus largely on first-time passports for adults and children and, of course, name changes. Some of my constituents who have needed to update their passports have even been asked to travel to Liverpool. That means travelling some distance, and we can only imagine the expenses they will incur to go there and get a passport.

The delays have caused widespread misery and panic for many of my constituents who want to go on holiday or need a passport for identity purposes, including getting a job. The Home Secretary referred to the courier service, which my constituents have experienced; it has not been delivering during out-of-office hours, including the weekend, so it has been a restricted service. I hope the Minister will be able to confirm that that will not continue.

The Passport Office said in its defence that there was no backlog and the Home Secretary backed it up, but a leaked e-mail from its interim chief executive said that there was trouble. Newspapers have reported that requests for passports are up by some 300,000 on the previous year, and the Passport Office has been advising some holidaymakers to pay a fast-track fee up front, to make sure they get their passports in time. As I said, even those of my constituents who have received their passports have been told they must drive to other passport offices to collect them.

During the second week of June, the unions claimed that the backlog in passport applications was surging above 500,000, despite the emergency plans that had been put in place at the time. The unions made it clear that the agency was in crisis due to job cuts and office closures. The Passport Office, however, was not short of money. It recorded a surplus of £72 million in 2012-13, so why has it been cutting staff? While the Home Secretary has been focusing on arguments with her colleagues, she has taken her eye off the ball and let this crisis get out of hand. I welcome the fact that she has apologised today.

As I said, my office has been speaking about constituents with the passport service for many weeks. I thank the passport service for the work it has done and my office staff for the many hours they have put in to make sure that my constituents will be able to go on holiday. My office are still dealing with requests for passports. One of my constituents was due to go on holiday but had waited until the last minute. Last week, he paid the premium and finally got his passport on Friday the 13th. He was due to fly that weekend, so the date was not unlucky for him. My constituency office is still being inundated with cases, so Members can imagine the panic and upset the situation is causing.

The Home Secretary has said that fees for the premium service will be waived. I welcome that, but it is too little, too late for my constituents, because they have had to put their hands in their pockets and stump up the premium payment to get their passport so that they can travel. Many have scrimped and saved all year round to be able to afford a family holiday, which is not easy at a time of a cost of living crisis. They deserve at the very least to be reimbursed.

Violence against Women and Girls

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

I thank the Backbench Business Committee for selecting this important debate and congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on leading it so eloquently. I want to focus my contribution on violence against women in the home, because I have been talking for some time with the Women’s Aid project in my constituency. It tells me that domestic violence against women in our communities is still for the most part hidden and not really openly spoken about, even by the women subjected to it. Why is that? We have heard a mixture of reasons today, not least of which are the fear of talking openly about it, the shame victims feel and their belief that they somehow brought the violence upon themselves, which is not the case. The real shame is that society still allows it to happen. In my part of the country, Scotland, a domestic violence incident is recorded every 10 minutes. Just imagine how many that is over the course of this debate.

No one deserves to be abused. No one should have to put up with abuse anywhere, let alone in their own homes. Domestic abuse can affect any women, regardless of class, race or age. There is no typical abuser either, but 82% of domestic violence incidents involve men attacking women—women they profess to love. Two or three women a week are even killed by former or current partners.

Many victims are not being attacked for the first time. In 2011-12, more than 33,000 of recorded incidents involved victims who had already experienced domestic abuse. The previous year the figure stood at just over 28,000. It can be a continuous cycle of violence, with women and children forced to flee their homes to seek sanctuary—many of us have difficulty understanding this —only to return to the abusive partner. Why? Again, the reasons are many: desire to try to maintain a resemblance of family life; they might have nowhere else to go; and even because, “Yes, I still love him.”

Domestic abuse causes serious and long-lasting harm. Apart from physical injury, it frequently causes psychological damage, and abused women can also lose their jobs and homes. It also affects the children who witness it. It undermines their relationship with their mother, disrupts their education and can even turn some into abusers themselves in later life. We have to stop this vicious cycle. Education in schools of zero tolerance is absolutely essential.

As I said, I have visited and spoken with those involved with the Women’s Aid project in Inverclyde. They believe that the causes of domestic abuse go back historically to the days when—believe it or not—a man was legally allowed to beat his wife. In Scotland, the problem can more usually be traced back to alcohol. For some, alcohol is the elixir that releases held-back pressure and frustration, allowing their rage to turn violent and leading them to lash out at those nearest and dearest. I always think that it is no coincidence that it took a Scotsman to write “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”, in which a potion released his darker and violent side.

Domestic violence corrodes and damages our communities and our society. The extent of the problem is shocking. A recent study revealed at the Scottish Women’s Aid conference in Edinburgh showed that domestic violence in Scotland has risen by 66% over the past 10 years. There is always a motivation behind the violence, whether it is physical or emotional: it is a way of maintaining control through fear. The woman becomes isolated from her family and friends. Many victims of domestic abuse blame themselves for the abuse, as I have said. Over time, domestic abuse creates an emotional and psychological state that is unique among crimes, similar to the fear endured by survivors of violent atrocities. I know that the police in Scotland have vowed to crack down on this crime and to make it easier for victims to raise the alarm, which I welcome.

[Mr Virendra Sharma]

The police have a major role to play in tackling domestic violence. We have the example of Gwent police force, which has established a dedicated domestic abuse and safeguarding unit, which appears to have had very positive results. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should replicate that on a national scale so that communities can be reassured and can receive specialised support services for the most marginalised and vulnerable?

[Mr McKenzie]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. He must have been looking over my shoulder at my notes, because I was about to move on to that subject. My local police force is now setting up remote stations to allow victims to report crimes without having to go to a police station.

We must go into schools and teach our young people that domestic abuse, be it physical, mental or sexual, is totally unacceptable. We must protect our future generations of women from this violence. All the agencies involved in tackling violence against women should be working together more effectively to eradicate it. There should always be zero tolerance for violence against women. We must be unremitting in our pursuit of those who carry out such crimes and in our support for those who suffer as a result. No woman should be subjected to violence, and certainly not in her own home. I applaud and support the work of the Women’s Aid project in my constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Monday 19th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Damian Green]

The hon. Gentleman is merely repeating the question asked by his right hon. Friend the shadow Home Secretary. Let me point out to him that—as was pointed out to his right hon. Friend on television yesterday—the figure that Labour Members keep producing would involve employing 3,000 police officers for one year and then sacking them all. I think his constituents would be pretty puzzled by that.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

6. What assessment she has made of the morale of staff in the UK Border Force.

[The Minister for Immigration (Mr Mark Harper)]

The morale and professionalism of the staff in the Border Force is obviously vital to the defence of our border security. They performed very well during the Olympic and Paralympic games, and I think that the country was very proud of that. The Home Office has just conducted its annual staff survey, and we will use the results to work with our staff to continue to improve the performance of the Border Force.

[Mr McKenzie]

The number of cases in which people have been refused the right to remain in the UK but the UK Border Agency does not know whether they have left has shot up by 8% in the last quarter. Is the Minister overseeing a new low in the UK Border Agency, and when will he get to grips with that increasing figure?

[Mr Harper]

I think that the hon. Gentleman has got his UK Border Agency and his Border Force muddled up. His question was about the Border Force. I have to say, on the basis of my limited time in this job and the visits that I have made to our border controls at Heathrow and Gatwick and the juxtaposed controls in Paris, that the staff whom I have met have been incredibly professional and very hard-working, and have delivered excellent border security. Long may they continue to do so.