Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the implementation of their codeword scheme for domestic abuse victims, announced on 21 May; and what assessment they have made of the success of that scheme so far.

We have been working closely with the domestic abuse sector, pharmacies, retailers and the police to develop a codeword scheme that will enable victims of domestic abuse to access emergency support in their community. To ensure that the scheme provides a safe and effective response to victims, we have worked with domestic abuse specialist organisations to develop training and guidance for retail staff delivering the scheme and are preparing to roll out these materials prior to public launch. An external evaluation will be carried out to assess of the effectiveness of the scheme.