Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department is taking to help end domestic abuse and violence against women.

Norman Baker

Domestic violence is a dreadful form of abuse and is not acceptable within our
society. The Coalition Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and
abuse is set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March
2014.

In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with
domestic violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. In response
to the Review, the Home Secretary has established a National Oversight Group, which
she is chairing, and on which I sit, to ensure HMIC’s recommendations are acted upon.
The Group met for the first time on 10 June. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have
the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice
and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. On 8
March 2014, the Government announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence
Protection Orders following the successful conclusion of a one-year
pilot in three police force areas including Wiltshire, as well as the Domestic
Violence Disclosure Scheme following the successful conclusion in
September 2013 of a one-year pilot in four police force areas – once again
including Wiltshire.