Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Bill for Survivors, published by Women’s Aid, and its proposal that they should have a statutory duty to “assess all welfare reforms for their impact on survivors’ ability to escape abuse”.

The Government recognises that domestic abuse is a devastating crime that shatters the lives of victims and families. It is vital that the response to domestic abuse supports victims and survivors, pursues perpetrators and ensures agencies provide an effective service.

The Government will be publishing a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill, which will help transform our response to the crime. We will have pledged to create a statutory Government definition of domestic abuse, introduce new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders and establish a Domestic Abuse Commissioner.

DWP policies are subject to appraisal and impact assessment in line with HM Treasury Green Book guidance. The Department is required under the Public Sector Equality Duty to assess the impact of specific policies on ‘protected groups’ including by gender, age, race and disability, and where relevant this requirement is met by the conducting of equality impact assessments. We have no current plans separately to consider domestic abuse.