Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure equity of access to domestic abuse protection orders.

Tackling domestic abuse continues to be a key priority for this Government. We will bring forward the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, designed both to better protect victims and tackle perpetrators, as soon as practicable in the first session of this new Parliament.

The domestic abuse protection orders (DAPOs) created by the legislation will be available to all victims of domestic abuse. Victims will be able to apply for the order themselves, free of charge, and police or (with the leave of the court) a third party, such as a specialist domestic organisation, will also be able to make an application. Criminal , family and (in specified circumstances) civil courts will also be able to make orders on the court’s own volition during the course of existing proceedings.

We have purposefully designed the order to provide victims and practitioners with a clear, accessible route to protection. We will issue statutory guidance to support each application route.