Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the policy paper entitled Thematic inspection on electronic monitoring, published on 22 January 2023, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendation that Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service work with the police and children’s social care at a national level to ensure that probation practitioners in every region are provided with domestic abuse and safeguarding checks in a timely manner.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We are investing an extra £5.5 million a year to recruit probation staff who are specifically responsible for accessing domestic abuse information held by police forces and children’s safeguarding information held by local authorities. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has worked with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the Department for Education and the National Police Chiefs’ Council leads for Domestic Abuse and Public Protection to provide support at national level to Probation Regions to access information from police and children’s services. The then Chief Probation Officer also wrote to all Children’s Services Directors and Chief Constables to alert them to the introduction of mandatory checks for domestic abuse and in relation to child safeguarding in electronic monitoring cases. The Chief Probation Officer highlighted the additional investment and placed the new mandatory checks in the context of the shared priority of the safety and welfare of adults and children who may be at risk.
HM Inspectorate of Probation published the Thematic Inspection on Electronic Monitoring in January 2022. HMPPS mandated that enquiries to police forces and children’s services should be made in all cases where there is a recommendation for an electronically monitored curfew from April 2022 (in addition to those cases where they were already required). The then Chief Probation Officer and the Executive Director for HMPPS Wales and Public Protection held an all staff event to reinforce the importance of making enquiries. The new Chief Probation Officer has been clear with all staff that this is one of her top priorities.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to HM Inspectorate of Prison and Probation Service's report on Thematic inspection on electronic monitoring, published 22 January 2023, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendation that HMPPS mandate the requirement to make domestic abuse and safeguarding checks before recommending a sentence or release on electronically monitored curfew.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We are investing an extra £5.5 million a year to recruit probation staff who are specifically responsible for accessing domestic abuse information held by police forces and children’s safeguarding information held by local authorities. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has worked with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the Department for Education and the National Police Chiefs’ Council leads for Domestic Abuse and Public Protection to provide support at national level to Probation Regions to access information from police and children’s services. The then Chief Probation Officer also wrote to all Children’s Services Directors and Chief Constables to alert them to the introduction of mandatory checks for domestic abuse and in relation to child safeguarding in electronic monitoring cases. The Chief Probation Officer highlighted the additional investment and placed the new mandatory checks in the context of the shared priority of the safety and welfare of adults and children who may be at risk.
HM Inspectorate of Probation published the Thematic Inspection on Electronic Monitoring in January 2022. HMPPS mandated that enquiries to police forces and children’s services should be made in all cases where there is a recommendation for an electronically monitored curfew from April 2022 (in addition to those cases where they were already required). The then Chief Probation Officer and the Executive Director for HMPPS Wales and Public Protection held an all staff event to reinforce the importance of making enquiries. The new Chief Probation Officer has been clear with all staff that this is one of her top priorities.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial support her Department provides to domestic abuse victims in Solihull to help them to leave abusive relationships.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Domestic abuse is intolerable and sometimes fatal, yet it is far too common. It is high volume, high harm, and high cost.
Our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan published in March 2022 invests £140 million to support victims, including over £47 million in ringfenced funding for victims’ services over three years (up to 2025).
Following a commitment in the plan, the Home Office is also working closely with Women’s Aid to provide £300,000 for one-off payments of £250 to victims of domestic abuse, rising to £500 where a victim is pregnant or has children.
The funding has been granted to support victims to leave abusive relationships and will help victims to pay for essentials such as groceries, nappies, sanitary products and rent on their previous property whilst they are in a refuge, or it could be put towards a deposit on new accommodation when they leave a refuge.
This will soon be available across the country through Women’s Aid members such as Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid and Panahghar, a service run by and for Black and minorities survivors in the Solihull area.
On 22 November, we commenced an open commercial competition (VAWG Specialist and Support Services Fund) for ‘by and for’ and specialist services. This will enable vital services, who are based in the communities they serve, to support victims often facing the greatest barriers to getting the help they need. Funding for the services will begin from 1st April 2023, totalling £8.4 million in financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the suggestion from the expert panel in the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, published in June 2020, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing training on a multi-disciplinary basis across all professions and agencies within the family justice system to ensure a consistent approach; and if he will take steps to (a) resource and (b) coordinate such training.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since the Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases report was published in June 2020, good progress has been made on delivering the commitments taken forward in the Government’s Implementation Plan, with the majority of these completed or well under way.
We have designed and are piloting a more investigative – and less adversarial - approach for private law proceedings in Dorset and North Wales, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. Alongside this, the Judicial College has launched new domestic abuse digital training packages for the judiciary and has rolled out a programme of compulsory domestic abuse training for family and civil judges. Monitoring and evaluation of the pilots is ongoing and will inform any decision on rolling out the process further, we anticipate this will be concluded in early 2024.
In April 2023, Family Procedure Rule Committee amended the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to allow Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.
My Department will shortly publish a full update on all Harm Panel commitments.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases: Final Report, published on 6 October 2020, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing mechanisms for communication, coordination and consistency between family courts and (a) criminal courts, (b) the police, (c) multi-agency risk assessment conferences, (d) children’s services, (e) family support and therapeutic services and (f) specialist domestic abuse services.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since the Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases report was published in June 2020, good progress has been made on delivering the commitments taken forward in the Government’s Implementation Plan, with the majority of these completed or well under way.
We have designed and are piloting a more investigative – and less adversarial - approach for private law proceedings in Dorset and North Wales, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. Alongside this, the Judicial College has launched new domestic abuse digital training packages for the judiciary and has rolled out a programme of compulsory domestic abuse training for family and civil judges. Monitoring and evaluation of the pilots is ongoing and will inform any decision on rolling out the process further, we anticipate this will be concluded in early 2024.
In April 2023, Family Procedure Rule Committee amended the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to allow Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.
My Department will shortly publish a full update on all Harm Panel commitments.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases: Final Report, published on 6 October 2020, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) cost-effectiveness of and (b) optimal model for the delivery of the provision of specialist support services for both survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since the Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases report was published in June 2020, good progress has been made on delivering the commitments taken forward in the Government’s Implementation Plan, with the majority of these completed or well under way.
We have designed and are piloting a more investigative – and less adversarial - approach for private law proceedings in Dorset and North Wales, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. Alongside this, the Judicial College has launched new domestic abuse digital training packages for the judiciary and has rolled out a programme of compulsory domestic abuse training for family and civil judges. Monitoring and evaluation of the pilots is ongoing and will inform any decision on rolling out the process further, we anticipate this will be concluded in early 2024.
In April 2023, Family Procedure Rule Committee amended the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to allow Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.
My Department will shortly publish a full update on all Harm Panel commitments.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Victims Bill will include provisions on (a) mental and emotional wellbeing and (b) other support for children and young people.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Victims are likely to experience a range of impacts following a crime and may require advice, recovery and support services, which could be medical, therapeutic, practical and/or emotional. The Victims and Prisoners Bill will improve the support offered to children and young people. Child victims are covered by the definition of victim in Part 1 of the Bill and are already covered in the current Victims’ Code. The Bill’s definition of a victim has been amended to align with the full Part 1 definition of domestic abuse as it appears in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which will also be set out in the new Victims’ Code. This clearly defines child victims who see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse as victims in their own right. Child victims will continue to be covered in the new Victims’ Code as well as being covered from the full suite of measures in Part 1 of the Bill. For example:
The Bill recognises the role that ISVAs (Independent Sexual Violence Advisors) and IDVAs (Independent Domestic Violence Advisors) have in working with children, young people, and their families.
The Bill will place a duty on Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities and Integrated Care Boards in England to collaborate when commissioning victim services. This includes a range of services which may support victims with a range of emotional mental health support.
In response to pre-legislative scrutiny, we emphasised where the needs of children should be considered by requiring commissioners to specifically have regard to any assessments they have carried out that reflect the needs of child victims, as distinct from adult victims.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support and protect at-risk girls and young women in education settings, including against poor mental health and sexual harassment.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to helping education settings provide the safe, calm, and supportive learning environments that promote good wellbeing and reduce risk of harm. This includes considering how we can best support girls and young women who may be at higher risk of sexual harassment or poor mental health.
The government’s Tackling Violence against Women and Girls Strategy sets out the actions that we are taking and the progress that we have made to prevent violence and harassment and protect victims. It includes the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Enough communications campaign, and changes to the law to introduce new criminal offences, including up-skirting and revenge porn. We will also be publishing non-statutory guidance specifically focused on teaching about sexual harassment and sexual violence.
As part of the strategy, we are determined to make sure the right resources and processes are in place across the education system to support any victims of abuse who come forward. The department published strengthened statutory school safeguarding guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education in September 2021. The guidance has been further strengthened for 2022, ensuring schools have even clearer guidance on how to deal with reports of sexual abuse. Revised guidance includes the ‘Sexual violence and sexual harassment advice’, putting this on a statutory footing to give the issue the prominence it deserves. The department is also trialling the impact of supervision for designated safeguarding leads, with a particular focus on supporting them to respond to sexual abuse issues.
As well as supporting pupils to understand their mental health, the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum in schools ensures all pupils are taught about respectful relationships. This includes learning that some types of behaviour within relationships are criminal, what constitutes sexual harassment and sexual violence, and why these are always unacceptable. The department has started a review of the RSHE statutory guidance and continues to develop standalone non statutory guidance to support schools to teach about these issues effectively.
Further education providers also have flexibility to offer aspects of RSHE. Providers should support students to access the support they need to have healthy relationships. The Ofsted Further Education and Skills inspection handbook includes personal development in its judgements, including students’ understanding of healthy relationships and how to keep themselves mentally healthy.
In higher education (HE), the department expects all providers to have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law, including the Equality Act 2010, and to swiftly address reports of harassment and sexual misconduct. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill includes a clause banning the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements to silence victims in cases of sexual misconduct in HE. The Office for Students (OfS) has also launched a consultation to make mandatory measures that will require providers to address student harassment.
The department supports education settings to take effective approaches to supporting wellbeing and mental health. In schools and colleges, we are providing grants to train Senior Mental Health Leads and rolling out Mental Health Support Teams which can improve access to support. In HE, we have an ambition for all providers to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter by 2026. The OfS have funded the online platform Student Space. The department has asked them to allocate £15 million to establishing better partnerships between universities and local NHS service and support transitions into university.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to support the police to help reduce the number of cases of (a) children assaulting their parents or guardians due to (i) gaming and (ii) other technology withdrawal disorders and (b) other inter-familial attacks.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse (‘CAPVA’) is a hidden but increasingly recognised form of abuse.
The Home Office have been working to better understand CAPVA, including why it happens and how best to tackle it. As part of our 2021-22 Domestic Abuse Research Fund, we awarded over £1m for various research projects. Included in this were projects that specifically focused on under-researched areas like CAPVA. Over the last three years we have also invested over £41m in increasing the availability of interventions for domestic abuse perpetrators (for example behaviour change programmes) which will also improve our understanding of what works to reduce reoffending. This has included funding projects that specifically work with children and young people displaying these types of behaviours. We recently launched a similar fund worth £36m over the next two years.
More widely, in our cross-government Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, the Home Office committed to publishing updated guidance for front line practitioners on child to parent abuse. We will seek input from those working in police, health, education and social care to help develop and hone this guidance. The Home Office will also work with stakeholders to reach an agreed definition and terminology for this type of behaviour which will help in identifying and addressing it.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of how many children are at increased risk of domestic abuse as a result of being severely absent from school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Regular school attendance is vital for pupils’ educational attainment, wellbeing, and wider development. For those pupils most at risk of harm, it is also an important safeguarding factor.
Most absence from school is accounted for by illness. Pupils who miss more than 50% of possible school sessions in a school year are considered to be severely absent. In the 2021/22 academic year, the severe absence rate was 1.7%.
As part of the drive to improve school attendance, the Department published the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance last year, which makes clear the importance of addressing the barriers to attendance through strong, multi agency working at school, multi academy trust, and Local Authority level. This includes a specific focus on identifying and supporting those pupils most at risk of persistent and severe absence from school to tackle absence early and put plans in place to improve attendance.
Schools and Local Authorities should agree a joint approach to supporting severely absent pupils, recognising that their needs are often more complex, and they are more likely to need support from a number of agencies locally.
The statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)’ emphasises that safeguarding is the responsibility of all professionals who work with children. Where a professional has concerns about a child, they should make an immediate referral to Local Authority children’s social care. It is the responsibility of Local Authority children’s services to assess children’s risk of harm. The latest data from 2021/22, shows that domestic abuse remains one of the most common factors identified in Children's Social Care Assessments.
While there have been no specific discussions with my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on severe absence, the Home Office and the Department for Education have regular discussions on areas of joint interest. This includes the Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed (SAFE) taskforces in mainstream schools and the Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforces, which involve specialist support for children disengaged from education to improve their attendance and reduce their involvement in serious violence. The Secretary of State for Education chairs an Attendance Action Alliance of leaders of key frontline services that support families. Members from education, health, justice, the third sector, and parent organisations meet regularly and have collectively committed to use their roles and organisations to undertake activities to improve attendance and tackle persistent absence from school.