Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support available to people who have left coercive relationships but continue to be subject to attempts at (a) financial and (b) other control by their ex-partners with whom they share parental responsibilities.

Controlling and coercive behaviour is a particularly insidious form of domestic abuse, which can continue post-separation. It is often part of a wider pattern of abuse, including violent, sexual or economic abuse.

Since 5th April 2023, following the passage of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and the amendment to Section 76 under the Serious Crime Act 2015, the controlling or coercive behaviour offence applies to ex-partners or family members who do not live together. This offers wider protection to victims who are experiencing abuse from an ex-partner they do not live with.

I recognise the devastating impact financial and economic abuse can have on victims. We continue to promote awareness of economic abuse to improve the public and private sector's response, particularly working with the specialist charity Surviving Economic Abuse to strengthen financial systems and support victims.

Proposals to reform the Child Maintenance Services (CMS) were published by the previous Government. This included removing Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster, as well as exploring how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported. We are analysing the responses received, and the Government will publish a response in due course.