Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to provide support for victims of domestic violence.

This Government is absolutely committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse.

The Ministry of Justice provides £68m in funding each year to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to provide support services to victims of crime. Of this, PCCs reported spending approximately £23.5 million in 2017/18 on services for victims of domestic abuse; these include tailored specialist support and advocacy through trained Independent Domestic Violence Advisors as well as practical and emotional support, risk assessment and safety planning.

In the Victims Strategy, published in September 2018, we committed to developing a new delivery model for victim support services, including services for domestic abuse victims, to increase availability of victim services through more joined up and sustainable funding.

Compensation also plays an important part in providing end-to-end support for victims of violent crime, including victims of domestic abuse. The Government funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme exists to compensate victims who suffer serious physical or mental injury as a direct result of a violent crime.

The Ministry of Justice is also working jointly with the Home Office on the Domestic Abuse Bill which was published in draft on 21 January 2019, alongside an accompanying package of over 120 non-legislative measures. Improving support for victims sits at the heart of this work and we have also provided an additional £20 million to support organisations working to combat domestic abuse and to support victims.