Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of local authorities on tackling financial abuse by perpetrators of domestic abuse.

We know that many victims of domestic abuse suffer from economic abuse and that this can be part of a pattern of controlling or coercive behaviour. Economic abuse can make the individual economically dependent on the abuser, and/or create economic instability, limiting the victims’ options to escape and access safety.

The draft updated Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Guidance, published April 2022, recognises the role of economic abuse within a pattern of controlling and coercive behaviour and has a dedicated section on economic abuse including examples of economic abuse, information on how to respond, guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority and signposting to relevant supporting services such as Surviving Economic Abuse.

The Domestic Abuse (DA) Statutory Guidance, published in July 2022, also covers economic abuse, and provides support to professionals on how to safeguard and support victims of domestic abuse. The DA Statutory Guidance is aimed at statutory and non-statutory bodies working with victims and perpetrators, including local authorities. Both pieces of guidance were subject to public consultations which were aimed at local authorities, among others, with local authority representatives also attending focus groups on the DA Statutory Guidance.