Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussion his Department has had with relevant stakeholders in Hexham constituency on legislative changes to recognise that under 16s can be victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. I regularly meet with my counterparts on this and we will publish our cross-government strategy as soon as possible.
Responsibility for the definition of domestic abuse as set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 sits with the Home Secretary. Responsibility for reported incidents of violence against women and girls also sits with the Home Office.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders in Northumberland on legislative changes to recognise that under 16s can be victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. I regularly meet with my counterparts on this and we will publish our cross-government strategy as soon as possible.
Responsibility for the definition of domestic abuse as set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 sits with the Home Secretary. Responsibility for reported incidents of violence against women and girls also sits with the Home Office.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders in the North East on legislative changes to recognise that under 16s can be victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. I regularly meet with my counterparts on this and we will publish our cross-government strategy as soon as possible.
Responsibility for the definition of domestic abuse as set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 sits with the Home Secretary. Responsibility for reported incidents of violence against women and girls also sits with the Home Office.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 August 2025 to Question 68971 on General Practitioners: Disclosure of Information, with which stakeholders the impact of information sharing duties on GPs was last discussed; and at what forums this was discussed.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Keeping children safe is a priority for the Government. The new information sharing duty will clarify when a child’s information should be shared, which should ease the overall burden on practitioners. It will be supported by statutory guidance, and we will work closely with multi-agency partners to ensure effective implementation.
To ensure the impact on general practitioners is effectively captured in the information sharing duty, the Department have consulted the following stakeholders:
- Action for Children;
- Barnardo’s;
- British Association of Social Workers;
- Domestic Abuse Commissioner;
- General Medical Council;
- Royal College of General Practitioners;
- Information Commissioner’s Office;
- Nursing and Midwifery Council;
- Operation Encompass;
- Social Work England;
- Teaching Regulation Agency, Teacher Misconduct; and
- over 400 individual practitioners, including those working in health.
All consultations took place in the form of meetings.
We are committed to ongoing engagement with health stakeholders as we plan for the effective implementation of the information sharing duty.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's report of 2020 entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, what steps his Department is taking to implement recommendations from that report; and whether the Government has any plans for an alternative inquiry to take its place.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice and its partners are delivering a package of reforms aimed at improving how the family justice system supports children and families – including victims of domestic abuse.
As part of this work we have already taken forward many of the actions it committed to following the Harm Panel report. This includes expanding the Pathfinder model which aims to improve the experience of children and families involved in private law proceedings. Through delivery of Pathfinder in ten court areas, we are learning a significant amount about how the family courts can operate in line with the principles for reform set out in the Harm Panel report. We are carefully monitoring these lessons ahead of further expansion. Alongside this, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s recent report on the Family Court Review and Reporting Mechanism pilot has made further recommendations, which the Government is now considering.
In addition, following the recommendations of the Harm Panel report, we have completed a review of the presumption of parental involvement. The evidence from the review suggests that the presumption may feed into a pro-contact culture in the family courts, finding a high incidence of court-ordered contact between children and parents who have caused or posed a risk of harm. As part of our wider package of family court reforms, the Government announced on 22 October 2025 that we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when Parliamentary time allows.
The Government will also be publishing our new, cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy as soon as possible, which will set out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on the Government’s ambition to tackle violence against women and girls.
The Government therefore does not consider it necessary to establish an alternative inquiry at this time.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the the potential benefits of accelerating the expansion of the Pathfinder pilot.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Pathfinder model is currently operating in six Designated Family Judge areas across England and Wales. Three further court areas - the Black Country and Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire - will start the model on 11 November. Courts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will start the model in January next year.
This Government is delivering a package of reform to ensure that children and victims of domestic abuse continue to be safeguarded and supported in family court proceedings, Pathfinder is central to this. Monitoring metrics are positive and the feedback from operational teams and external stakeholders has identified a range of benefits. A process evaluation and initial financial analysis of the pilot was published in March 2025. Research participants involved in the evaluation reported that the Child Impact Report adopted in the pilots improved child engagement and the model provided better support for victims of domestic abuse. Management information from the two initial pilot court areas showed cases in the model were resolved 11 weeks quicker and the open caseload reduced by 50%.
Further expansion of the model will be considered during the allocations process which follows the latest Spending Review, and we are unable to pre-empt the outcome of this.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to respond to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner's report, Everyday business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism, published on 14 October.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the impact family court proceedings can have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising the protection of abuse survivors going through the family court. This includes the expansion of the Pathfinder programme, which promotes safeguarding and supports victims of domestic abuse through early multi-agency collaboration and expert domestic abuse support.
The family court also has a range of powers to protect victims. These include prohibiting the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers and automatically deeming survivors eligible for special measures, such as giving evidence via video link or from behind a screen. Additionally, Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) can attend court to provide support throughout proceedings.
The Government welcomes the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report. We are carefully considering the recommendations and will publish a full response in due course.
On 22 October we announced that, as part of the wider package of family court reforms, we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement. Alongside this announcement, we have published the Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement and the accompanying reports from the three commissioned research projects.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider undertaking a review in relation to concerns of senior lawyers that family courts are "not safe" for victims of domestic violence.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the impact family court proceedings can have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising the protection of abuse survivors going through the family court. This includes the expansion of the Pathfinder programme, which promotes safeguarding and supports victims of domestic abuse through early multi-agency collaboration and expert domestic abuse support.
The family court also has a range of powers to protect victims. These include prohibiting the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers and automatically deeming survivors eligible for special measures, such as giving evidence via video link or from behind a screen. Additionally, Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) can attend court to provide support throughout proceedings.
The Government welcomes the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report. We are carefully considering the recommendations and will publish a full response in due course.
On 22 October we announced that, as part of the wider package of family court reforms, we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement. Alongside this announcement, we have published the Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement and the accompanying reports from the three commissioned research projects.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to amend the presumption of parental involvement when a parent has been convicted of abuse or violent crimes.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has announced that it will repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when Parliamentary time allows.
We are committed to ensuring that the child’s welfare remains at the heart of the courts’ decision-making, and that each case considers the individual child and their family circumstances. Courts will continue to make decisions in line with the remaining provisions in the Children Act, the Human Rights Act 1998, ECHR considerations, and caselaw, with the child’s welfare remaining the paramount consideration.
The measure to repeal the presumption forms a key part of broader family court reforms, which include the expansion of the Pathfinder courts. These reforms aim to ensure that any decisions centre the child’s welfare and are based on a robust assessment of potential risks.
Alongside this announcement, we have published the Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement and the accompanying reports from the three commissioned research projects.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that children are safeguarded in cases where allegations of parental abuse have been made but no formal legal restrictions are yet in place.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The welfare of children is the paramount concern in family proceedings.
Established multi-agency safeguarding arrangements are in place to ensure that children are protected swiftly and effectively in both public and private family proceedings. Where needed, there are clear referral routes for communicating cases to Local Authorities. These procedures ensure that concerns about the immediate welfare of children are identified and escalated promptly with the appropriate agencies.
This government is delivering a package of reform to the family courts to ensure that children continue to be safeguarded and supported. This includes the expansion of the Pathfinder programme, which promotes child safeguarding through early multi-agency collaboration, expert domestic abuse support, and greater emphasis on the voice of the child.