Maria Miller

During the pandemic, up to 47% of the workforce have worked from home. While this is not the only form of flexible working, we hope this will have a positive impact on attitudes towards greater flexibility in when and where work is done. We will build on this as we look to make flexible working the default.

Commissioner Ian Dyson, City of London Police and Chair of IMORCC (Information Management & Operational Requirements Coordination Committee), is the senior police officer who led on the development of the National Policing Digital Strategy (Digital, Data and Technology Strategy 2020-2030).

One key ambition of the Strategy is investment to ensure policing, from leadership through to the front line, are equipped with the right digital knowledge, skills and tools to deal with increasingly complex crimes. A further ambition of the Strategy is to harness the power of digital technologies and behaviours to identify the risk of harm and protect the vulnerable in both the physical and the digital world.

Activities involving the taking and sharing of intimate images are captured by existing offences, for example those tackling revenge pornography, voyeurism, harassment, malicious communications, blackmail, and coercive or controlling behaviour.

To strengthen further the law in this area, the Government recently announced that the “revenge porn” offence will be extended to capture those who threaten to disclose such material. Provisions to extend the parameters of the offence in this manner were introduced in the Domestic Abuse Act.

The provisions will come into force two months after Royal Assent: on 29 June this year.

However, the Government recognises that there is concern over the growth of new technology and the impact on the law in this area.

We have asked the Law Commission to review the law in this area to ensure victims are properly protected. The Law Commission published a public consultation to this review on 26 February this year.

The consultation period ended on 27 May and I understand the Law Commission intends to publish its findings by Spring 2022.

The Government awaits the Law Commission’s findings with interest and shall consider them carefully.

Domestic abuse cases are amongst the highest priority work being dealt with by the courts. Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Non-Molestation orders have been placed in the highest category of work in the magistrates’ and family courts, and they continue to be listed for urgent hearings despite the current restrictions.

The magistrates’ courts have been focusing on cases where the defendant is being held in custody, but their work is now being extended to include bail cases where there is a vulnerable victim, such as domestic abuse cases, and these cases are being reviewed by the judiciary.

Domestic abuse cases will continue to be afforded a higher priority as social distancing restrictions are eased after the Covid-19 outbreak.

I recognise the Rt Hon Lady’s work on this important issue to date. We have worked hard for a year now to encourage progress from the Department of Health on proper commissioning of the services set out in the regulations a year ago but without success.

While over 1,100 abortions had been provided locally in Northern Ireland since April 2020, services have not been formally commissioned by the Department of Health.

That is why we recently laid further Regulations which provide the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with a power to direct the Department of Health and others to take the action necessary to implement the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW Report. Women and girls in Northern Ireland should have the same rights in this space as those across the rest of the UK.