Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the multi-agency approach to stalking and the management of fixated offenders adopted by Cheshire Constabulary's Harm Reduction Unit; and whether she plans to support the adoption of that model by other police forces.

The Government recognises the importance of multi-agency approaches to tackling stalking and managing high-risk perpetrators. Our cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy makes clear that preventing abuse and protecting victims requires effective multi-agency working and a strong focus on perpetrator behaviour and risk management.

Cheshire PCC are receiving funding through the Home Office’s Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund to support their work in this area. More broadly, we are funding the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to support the sharing of effective practice across policing and encourage forces to consider approaches that improve outcomes for victims and strengthen the management of perpetrators.