Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing specialised training to (a) administrative and (b) auxiliary staff in the Family Court service on domestic violence including (i) recognising it, (ii) supporting vulnerable individuals and (iii) how to report concerns.

HMCTS staff are trained to support vulnerable individuals by providing practical protections, such as, protective screens, video links, and access to separate waiting rooms and separate entrances in accordance with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and Part 3A of the Family Procedure Rules. All staff follow safeguarding policies to recognise vulnerable individuals and report concerns. Staff complete annual training on safeguarding, and domestic abuse training is currently being updated in conjunction with HMCTS’ Domestic Abuse Working Group which includes judicial members and representatives from a Women’s Centre.

The Government is delivering on commitments made in response to the final report of the Expert Panel on Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Cases. This includes working with across the family justice system to improve training on domestic abuse and to provide all professionals with the tools to effectively support vulnerable parties.