Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Deaths following Domestic Abuse

Monday 5 September 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Kate Osborne asked the Minister about steps taken by the Department to support families of women who died due to domestic abuse, including suicides and suspicious deaths.
  • The Minister highlighted the need for a central count of domestic abuse fatalities to build an evidence base for effective interventions.
  • Jess Phillips inquired about the Government's response to the domestic homicide sentencing review, noting 105 women killed during the period of delay, to which the Minister guaranteed a response.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kate Osborne Lab Jarrow and Gateshead East
Justice & Courts Women & Equalities
Context

Families are seeking support after the deaths of women due to domestic abuse, which includes suicides and suspicious deaths.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to support the families of women who have died in (a) domestic abuse-related suicides and (b) suspicious deaths following domestic abuse.

Answer from Amanda Solloway

Every domestic abuse-related death is a tragedy, leaving too many families in grief. In the tackling domestic abuse plan, we committed to significant reforms of the domestic homicide review process to ensure that lessons are learned, victims are supported appropriately and deaths are prevented in the first place. The Home Office is also providing £250,000 in funding to the charity Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse to deliver specialist and expert advocacy to families affected by domestic homicide, domestic abuse-related suicides and unexplained deaths linked to domestic abuse.

Answered
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Q2 Kate Osborne Lab Jarrow and Gateshead East
Crime & Law Enforcement Women & Equalities
Context

The question highlights the increasing difficulty in prosecuting domestic abusers, with three out of four recorded cases being closed due to evidential difficulties or the inability of victims to continue.

Question

The Government's latest domestic abuse plan confirms the stark truth that action on domestic abuse is getting worse, with fewer domestic abusers being prosecuted. Three in four recorded domestic abuse cases are closed due to evidential difficulties or because the victim is unable to continue. I hope the new Prime Minister takes the issue more seriously than she did as Minister for Women and Equalities. Will the Minister commit to bringing forward plans to support victims taking action and introducing a domestic abuse perpetrator register?

Answer from Amanda Solloway

I commend all the work that has been done on domestic abuse, and all the issues we have to face are not taken lightly. A central count of domestic abuse fatalities is crucial to building the evidence base for effective interventions and preventing future tragedies. This Government have been counting all domestic homicides, domestic abuse-related unexplained or suspicious deaths, and suspected suicides of individuals with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation since March 2020.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to bring forward plans to support victims taking action and introducing a domestic abuse perpetrator register

How: We Are Committed To

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Q3 Jess Phillips Lab Birmingham Yardley
Justice & Courts Women & Equalities
Context

There has been a delay in addressing the QC-led report on domestic homicide sentencing, affecting families of victims like Ellie Gould and Poppy Devey Waterhouse.

Question

On 20 June, I stood at this Dispatch Box and asked the then Minister, the hon. Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean), where the Government's response to the domestic homicide sentencing review was. I said then that 105 women had been killed during the period of delay to that response. The then Minister—to be fair to the current Minister—assured me that she would write to me on the issue; she did not. Since I asked in June, there have been 18 more victims of femicide counted by the organisation Counting Dead Women, which will not account for the cases referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) because those are not as well known. May I ask what exactly is causing the Government such delay in responding to the QC-led report? They have had it for months and have promised the grief-stricken families of Ellie Gould and Poppy Devey Waterhouse that it will be delivered. Does the Minister wonder how many other women will have died by the time they finally respond?

Answer from Amanda Solloway

Such cases, whenever we hear of them, are always a great tragedy. There has been no delay, but I do give my commitment that we will get a response to the hon. Member—[Interruption.] We will get a response to her. I give her my guarantee.

Not addressed: Reason for delay in responding to the domestic homicide sentencing review

How: No Delay

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