Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is committed to supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse. We provide comprehensive advice to these employees and their managers including how to identify abuse, actions which colleagues and managers can take, and links to organisations providing advice and support. Our guidance also covers the actions of perpetrators and how disciplinary action would be implemented.
In July 2024 we implemented Domestic Abuse Guidance for employees and line managers. Line managers can access departmental online information and 121 support is available for the line manager where this is needed for specific instances of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has committed to raising awareness of domestic abuse and providing guidance and support for employees and managers.
The Department’s 2021 Domestic Abuse Charter commits to providing a safe, supportive workplace for staff affected by domestic abuse. It outlines practical support measures, guidance for managers, and a clear process for responding to disclosures, with the aim of breaking down taboos and ensuring staff wellbeing.
The Department’s intranet provides a dedicated domestic abuse support page that includes the employee guide. The guide is designed to help all staff understand what domestic abuse is and what help is available, and contains a list of external organisations available for advice and support. Staff can also contact the Department’s Domestic Abuse Support Network via email for confidential advice and resources, or follow signposting to the Employee Assistance Programme, offering 24/7 confidential emotional and wellbeing support. The Department is also a member of the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse which supports organisations to take action on domestic abuse.
The Department provides guidance for managers to effectively support employees who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse. This guidance covers supporting affected colleagues, managing perpetrators, and ensuring a safe, supportive workplace. Further guidance and support for managers is available through Human Resources (HR). In 2022 and 2024, the Department provided training for HR and the Domestic Abuse Support Network members who provide support to managers and employees.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2025 to Question 52361 on Gender Based Violence: Prosecutions, whether her Department has had further discussions on the application of the Crown Prosecution Service Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan to rural areas.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Domestic abuse causes severe and lasting harm to victims. Bringing perpetrators of these crimes to justice, whether committed in our cities, towns or rural areas, is a core priority for this Government and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
In collaboration with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the CPS launched the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (DA JJP) to improve the collective response to the investigation and prosecution of domestic abuse cases across England and Wales.
The DA JJP has strengthened joint working with policing – building stronger cases from the outset and increasing access to justice for victims nationally and locally. The work is already showing positive results – referrals volumes from Northumbria Police have increased by nearly 18.4% since the plan was launched, demonstrating that significant progress has been made.
Recognising different local needs, the plan provides strategic direction rather than prescribing local activity. CPS Areas and police forces have worked together to tailor the plan to address local priorities and community needs – including those in rural areas.
A key outcome of the DA JJP is building expertise across both the CPS and policing. To support this, there is a joint knowledge sharing event on ‘Domestic Abuse in Rural Areas’ planned for the new year. This coordinated approach is key to breaking cycles of abuse, securing prosecutions, and ensuring that victims are heard, protected, and supported throughout the justice process.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support armed forces personnel who have experienced intimate partner violence and abuse.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence will not tolerate domestic abuse in any form and will respond to any formal allegations and take necessary action against perpetrators. Addressing domestic abuse is a ministerial priority and a shared responsibility for defence leaders, and providing support and care to victims and survivors is a priority for me and those in Defence tasked with tackling this issue.
Our efforts to combat domestic abuse include a robust, consistent and persistent response, informed staff, and the fostering of an open and understanding culture, where support is offered and seeking support is encouraged. We aim to create a culture where every person feels empowered to report instances that are perpetrated against or by Defence personnel, regardless of seniority or position.
The Ministry of Defence Domestic Abuse Action Plan 2024-2029 was formally published in March 2024 and details key actions Defence is taking to tackle domestic abuse. These include how we will prevent, intervene, and partner to support those affected and ensure perpetrators are held accountable.
For victims and survivors, we not only offer practical and emotional support from our own welfare organisations and the Victim Witness Care Unit, but we also partner with external specialists such as Aurora New Dawn and Mankind. Both of these organisations receive funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and provide support to Armed Forces personnel and their families.
Our efforts also include Raising Our Standards (ROS), which exists improve culture and tackle all unacceptable behaviours, which includes initiatives that are preventative in nature.
Defence is committed to playing our part in this government’s commitment to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade, and we are taking a public health approach to addressing VAWG. This means taking a preventative approach to tackle the drivers of offending, whilst expanding victim support and ensuring swift and certain enforcement after an incident takes place. Other work underway through ROS also includes a King’s Counsel Review of Defence Zero Tolerance policies, a tri-Service complaints unit removing complaints from the single Service chain of command for the first time and funding for a new military appraisal system.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of prosecutions for domestic abuse related offences.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Domestic Abuse (DA) causes severe and lasting harm to victims. Bringing perpetrators of these crimes to justice is a top priority for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
In partnership with the National Police Chiefs Council, the CPS launched the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (DA JJP) in November 2024 to improve their collective response to the investigation and prosecution of DA cases.
The DA JJP sets out how the police and CPS will strengthen joint working – from building stronger cases from the outset to improving victim safeguarding to deliver more timely justice for victims. This coordinated approach is key to breaking cycles of abuse, securing prosecutions, and ensuring that victims are heard, protected, and supported throughout the justice process.
The focused work within the DA JJP has already had a positive impact on most CPS performance metrics. For example, referral volumes from police to CPS have increased by 14% since the DA JJP was launched. Charging pilots have also been launched to improve timeliness, with national rollout set for the end of 2025.
The forthcoming CPS VAWG Strategy, due for publication later this year, recognises the link between DA and VAWG related offending. Through the strategy, the CPS will further strengthen its response to DA through updated prosecution guidance, enhanced training modules and an improved services to victims of DA.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase support for victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is absolutely committed to tackling domestic abuse and halving violence against women and girls in a decade. We are strengthening protections for victims, improving law enforcement responses, and ensuring perpetrators are held to account.
The 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims. This includes ‘core’ funding for victims of all crime types and funding that is ring-fenced for domestic abuse and sexual violence services. For 2025/26, we protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support. Funding after March 2026 will be agreed through the allocations process which follows on the latest Spending Review, and we are unable to pre-empt the outcome of this.
Alongside this, we have committed to a range of measures which will support domestic abuse victims, including piloting the Domestic Abuse Protection Order and expanding the use of Domestic Abuse Specialist Courts, where trained staff support victims and agencies work together to drive better outcomes, as recommended by the Independent Sentencing Review. We are also introducing a new judicial finding of domestic abuse at sentencing, which will help ensure domestic abuse offenders are better identified and monitored throughout the system. This will support stronger protections for victims, whether the perpetrator is in custody or in the community.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to to minimise the potential impact of court proceedings on domestic violence victims by (a) aligning the (i) burdens of proof, (ii) legal standards and (iii) duties of lawyers in the family and criminal courts and (b) improving the admissibility of evidence between the family and criminal courts.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to doing everything it can to halve Violence Against Women and Girls within a decade. We recognise why it is important that victims of domestic abuse can have confidence that their case will be heard in court as soon as possible, and that they have support to help them navigate the justice system.
There are many procedural and systemic differences between family and criminal courts which are necessary and important given the very different contexts of those proceedings and the issues they are dealing with. Despite this, victims of domestic abuse are entitled to many of the same protections across our family, civil and criminal courts, including automatic eligibility for special measures, which can include giving evidence behind a screen or via a video link, and protection from being directly cross-examined by their perpetrators. In addition, our recently introduced Domestic Abuse Protection Order, is the first ever cross-jurisdictional order to be made available, on civil standard of proof, across family, civil and criminal courts.
While the Government is pursuing a range of initiatives and longer-term reforms across both criminal and family courts, aimed at improving outcomes for victims of domestic abuse, no steps are being taken to align different standard of proof, admissibility of evidence or procedure between these different jurisdictions.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the provisions in Part Two of the Sentencing Bill on victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Sentencing Bill includes a range of measures that will strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse and ensure the justice system responds robustly to offending. These measures will help to ensure that prisons never run out of space again and dangerous offenders can be kept off the streets.
We are introducing a new judicial finding of domestic abuse at sentencing, which will help ensure domestic abuse offenders are better identified and monitored throughout the system. This will support stronger protections for victims, whether the perpetrator is in custody or in the community.
The Bill also retains a different release point for the most serious violent and sexual offenders and gives judges full discretion to impose immediate custody in cases involving significant risk of harm to an individual – including to protect victims of domestic abuse. In addition, we are imposing tough restriction zones for serious sexual and violent offenders, which limit the movement of perpetrators rather than victims.
These reforms are part of our wider commitment to a justice system that punishes offenders, protects the public, and supports victims – including those affected by domestic abuse.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press notice entitled Landmark package to pursue domestic abuse perpetrators, published on 16 July 2025, whether the Drive Project rollout will be the subject of (a) an impact evaluation and (b) a randomised controlled trial.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office is investing £53 million to roll out the Drive Project over the next four years. The Drive Project is a multi-agency, intensive case management approach for the highest risk, highest harm serial perpetrators of domestic abuse perpetrators. This is a key measure in the Government's commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade.
The Drive Project pilot was the subject of a robust impact evaluation - between 2016 and 2019, the University of Bristol conducted evaluation to measure The Drive Project's effectiveness in reducing abuse, using a randomised control design.
We are working closely with The Drive Partnership to develop plans for monitoring and evaluation of the rollout, ensuring that the approach builds on what has come before.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps her Department is taking to increase prosecution rates for cases involving coercive and controlling behaviour.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Domestic Abuse (DA) causes severe and lasting harm to victims, particularly controlling or coercive behaviour (CCB) which can permeate all aspects of their lives. Bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice is a core priority for this Government and supports our landmark ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG).
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to securing prosecutions for CCB. The number of CCB cases to have reached a first hearing in the magistrates’ court has increased year on year since this legislation was introduced: increasing from 5 cases in 2015-16 to 5,254 cases in 2024-25.
However, we know that more must be done to improve the identification and understanding of this complex form of offending. To support this, the CPS has integrated a CCB case study into its face-to-face domestic abuse training, which has now been delivered to 3133 prosecutors.
The CPS and National Police Chiefs’ Council launched the DA Joint Justice Plan in November 2024. This includes a shared commitment between police and CPS to improve the identification of behaviour-driven offending such as CCB. It also aims to ensure that victims are heard, supported, and protected throughout their journey in the criminal justice process.