(North Tyneside)
(Lab): Those announcements are welcome. Will the Minister
recognise the work being done by the excellent Northumbria
police and crime commissioner, , who has such a holistic
approach to tackling violence—sexual violence and domestic
abuse—against women? She has launched campaigns such as “Fun
without fear”, and she commissions work with perpetrators, as
well as with victims of domestic and violent abuse, to cover all
aspects of work to stop this kind of violence against women.
The Minister of State, Home Department (): I genuinely thank
the hon. Lady for bringing to the fore the vital role
that Police and Crime
Commissioners play in their local areas to do
exactly the sort of the work that she describes. We are
giving Police and Crime
Commissioners the funding and flexibility to
commission plans and work in their own local areas, but we are
now supporting that, as I say, with the national strategic
policing priority so that there is a focus not just at local
level but at national level. We have invested an unprecedented
amount—some £35 million—specifically in tackling the perpetrators
of domestic abuse. This is very significant work, and I am sure
that we will begin to see the benefits of it very soon...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department (): Thank you, Madam
Deputy Speaker, for allowing time for this important debate. I
thank all Members who have contributed. I also thank Members for
the tone in which most of the contributions have been made,
because I have a real sense that this is a collective effort we
are all engaged in. Our colleagues in the police force,
local Police and Crime
Commissioners and local authorities, with whom
Members engage, also bear that responsibility, and that has come
over loud and clear...
...The hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree () asked why we are not taking
femicide as seriously as terrorism. That is precisely what the
strategic policing requirement sets out to do. I am afraid that I
must take issue with her comments about the allocation of funding
in her area going to perpetrators, not victims. Those funding
matters are local decisions. The Home Office will make funding
available to her locally elected Labour police and crime
commissioner, so she needs to take that up with her
Labour party colleagues in the area. We have put aside national
funding of £300 million for victims, so I suggest that she has
those conversations...
(Liverpool, Wavertree)
(Lab): The Minister is being generous with her time. Does
she agree that although perpetrator funding is essential, the
funding that goes to the victims of violence should be increased?
They are often the ones fleeing the domestic home and having to
set up anew. Does she not agree that they should get more funding
than perpetrators?
: With respect to the
hon. Lady, I think I have addressed that point. The funding is
allocated to her local Labour police and crime
commissioner, and those are choices that are made on a
local level. We have introduced a huge number of measures through
the Domestic Abuse Act to address the issues that she has
mentioned...
For context, CLICK HERE
