Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compulsory digital training on domestic abuse introduced for family judges, magistrates, and legal advisers in October 2021; how many individuals have completed the training; how frequently it is delivered or refreshed; and what evaluation has been conducted of its effectiveness in improving outcomes in the family courts.

To preserve judicial independence, statutory responsibility for the training of the courts judiciary in England and Wales is held by the Lady Chief Justice and fulfilled by the Judicial College. It would therefore be constitutionally inappropriate for the Government to undertake assessments of judicial training.

I am aware that the Judicial College launched updated digital training on domestic abuse for all family judges in October 2021 and for magistrates and their legal advisers in November 2021. The judicial training and magistrates and legal adviser training were mandatory.

This was followed in 2022/23 by an intensive one-year programme of mandatory live training for family judges on the harms of domestic abuse, which was also offered to judges in the civil jurisdiction, and intensive mandatory continuation training for family magistrates and legal advisers.

Domestic abuse remains a central part of induction and continuation training for all judges, magistrates and legal advisers who hear family cases. Training is regularly evaluated and reviewed by the Judicial College and updated as appropriate.