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10.14 pm
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Alun Michael): There is a tradition in the House of congratulating any hon. Member who is successful in obtaining an Adjournment debate. On this occasion, however, I would rather congratulate the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on the use that he has made of the debate, and on his constructive and thoughtful contribution, to which I am delighted to be able to respond positively.
I am also pleased that the hon. Gentleman noticed that, as well as my being here to answer the debate, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Ms Ruddock), the Under-Secretary of State for Social Security and Minister for Women, is also present. The existence of my hon. Friend's role, and the close co-operation that we are giving to the task of examining domestic violence and other violence against women, illustrate the Government's approach and the importance that we attach to the issue.
The hon. Gentleman was right to describe the statistics as horrific, because domestic violence continues to be the single most common form of violence against women, accounting for 17 per cent. of all violent incidents recorded by the 1996 British crime survey.
Recent new research published by Crime Concern reports that, in some parts of Britain, one woman in nine are the victims of severe beatings by partners each year. That is slightly worse than the statistics that the hon. Gentleman cited. He was right to say that domestic violence must be regarded, and underlined, as a serious crime, rather than, as it was in the past, as less serious than other forms of violence.
The hon. Gentleman stressed the need for prevention, which touches on one, indeed two, of the Government's major themes in dealing with crime. One of our favourite themes is to prevent crime wherever possible, and we are considering all sorts of ways of creating partnerships to understand and deal with the problems of crime at local level. The second is the idea of dealing with problems quickly when they arise--to nip things in the bud rather than allowing them to drift on for a long time until they become so serious that nobody can ignore them.
The hon. Gentleman mentioned the value of voluntary organisations, many of which make a tremendous contribution to publicising the issues and in giving help, support and advice to people who find no help elsewhere. They also help in developing the forum activities that have helped with exchanges of views, with the education of the public, and with mutual education about how to tackle the problems.
I certainly agreed when the hon. Gentleman said that the process of growing awareness of the problem of domestic violence had been slow. That growth in awareness has been inexorable, but it has taken place over a long period. Awareness is far greater among the police than it was a few years ago, and most police forces now have carefully thought-out policies, and work much more closely with local welfare organisations and voluntary organisations representing women. None the less, they are aware that they still need to do more. That sensitivity, plus the will to continue to improve their standard of response, is the keynote for the future.
The hon. Gentleman showed great financial restraint, for a Liberal Democrat. He did not spend the same penny again and again, and tell us that we simply needed to re-order the money already available. He was right to say that there is a variety of sources, and that the availability of finance is complex, and it is difficult to find a way through. The trouble is that changing funding is complex, too, and if we are not careful we could accidentally shut off the sources of supply to some valuable organisations.
Some sources of funding, such as single regeneration budgets, already embed concern about issues of violence, including domestic violence, within a wider context. It is important to see domestic violence not as existing in a backwater but as part of the wider picture of society in terms of dealing with crime and with other social problems.
I underline a very clear theme in the Crime and Disorder Bill--which is currently wending its way through another place, and will soon reach this
House--which is a local partnership approach in identifying local problems of crime. Such an approach must include identifying the local nature and profile of crimes of domestic violence, promoting the joint responsibility of police and local authorities to identify those problems in a crime and disorder audit, and considering not only statistics but people's experience--by working with voluntary organisations and those with direct experience--to get to grips with the reality of domestic violence and produce a strategy to deal locally with crimes and the causes of crime.
The hon. Member for Twickenham also mentioned the courts. There are many ways in which domestic violence issues are dealt with in the courts, and he was right to seek both simplification of that process and improved access to the courts. The Government believe strongly in such improvements. However, we are looking also for ways in which we might deal with the gaps in legislation.
For many years, we campaigned for legislation to deal with stalking. We were delighted to be able shortly after the general election to implement the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Precisely in accordance with a belief in prevention rather than cure, the Act goes rather wider than its title might suggest, by allowing a variety of forms of harassment to be dealt with.
An order may be granted, for example, on the basis of evidence not only from the victim but from professional witnesses, thereby allowing certain activities to be forbidden. Serious criminal penalties may apply to the breach of an order. We are including similar provisions in the Crime and Disorder Bill, and are generally improving legislation to make our systems work well.
Downgrading cases is always a difficulty, and the matter requires much attention. One way of dealing with it is an improved relationship between police and the Crown Prosecution Service. My right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General is pushing through reforms on the matter as quickly as possible. The reforms will lead to an improvement generally in how crime is prosecuted, and will provide significant benefits in dealing with domestic violence and violence against women.
It is certainly true that violence against women remains a blot on society, and that tackling it must be a priority. We must not tolerate a culture in which it is accepted, or in which its victims are afraid to speak out. The hon. Member was right to say that, although things have improved, there is still acceptance of violence in some areas and in some cultures. I have been working with my hon. Friend the Minister for Women because of concerns about that situation. Moreover, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security and Minister for Women recently announced in the House a national strategy to tackle all forms of violence against women.
We are certainly determined that domestic violence will be dealt with effectively. To that end, Home Office Ministers are working with Ministers from other Departments to review all policies dealing with domestic violence. The hon. Member rightly said that men can be victims of domestic violence. Although that matter should not be overlooked, a person's sex is a significant factor in the likelihood of his or her being a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence, and in the seriousness and impact of domestic violence attacks. We must therefore concentrate on the experiences of women.
Tackling domestic violence--both causes and effects--is a huge task, and much of the work will have to fall to local agencies. However, Government have a part to play. We provide court funding to the Women's Aid Federation in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and revenue funding for women's refuge spaces. Through the special grants programme, we have made funds available to the Women's Aid Federation (England) to develop training opportunities, resources and facilities for local refuges. Other funding supports projects in Scotland and Wales. Local projects in England are funded through the single regeneration budget challenge fund.
Future funding issues are being examined in the context of the increased priority being given to the matter by the Government, and the interdepartmental strategies that are being developed to combat domestic violence through both prevention, and information and support for those who have already been victims. It is very important that the issue is dealt with across Government; it is not an issue just for one Department--not even the Home Office, with its responsibilities for crime or the Department of my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, given her concern for women's issues.
All colleagues in all Departments need to recognise the relevance of health, education, local government and a variety of Government responsibilities to deal with the matter. We are at the moment looking very carefully at the best way of developing a new interdepartmental campaign of information and publicity to ensure coherence that aids understanding, so that people know how and where to get help.
I should mention--the hon. Member for Twickenham mentioned the domestic violence help line--that we have recently given the Women's Aid Federation (England) extra funding to enable it to continue to run the domestic violence help line. The federation will have financial difficulties in the coming year, as I was told when I met its representatives earlier in the week, but it is looking for ways to continue to run the operation. Very often, due to the patchwork of provision, people need somewhere nationally to go, if only to ask where they can get help and be given advice.
We said in opposition that care and concern for victims would be one of our priorities in government. That is absolutely right. There needs to be a switch in the attention that the criminal justice system, as well as the public service, gives to needs of victims. Within weeks of coming to office, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister kept that promise by announcing an increase of £1 million a year for Victim Support, which will enable it to establish a national telephone help line for victims of crime, and to develop its court-based and local services.
On 1 October 1997, to help victims further, we brought into force the provisions of part IV of the Family Law Act 1996. That is a very important enactment, which provides
strengthened powers of arrest where violence is used or threatened. It also amends the Children Act 1989, so that, when an emergency protection order or an interim care order is made for the protection of children, an exclusion order can be attached, permitting the removal from the home of the suspected abuser, rather than the removal of the child. Those provisions are important.
Partnership between agencies at a local level is extremely important. I have already referred to the partnership required between local authorities and the police in developing local crime prevention partnerships. We certainly expect the crime audit required under the Crime and Disorder Bill to identify the level of domestic violence in an area. Local partnerships will be required to develop a strategy for addressing it in the wider strategy for crime reduction needed in the area.
In June, we set up an interdepartmental review to identify ways of improving the situation of all vulnerable witnesses. That includes victims of domestic violence--although it includes a number of others as well. Sometimes people are affected by domestic violence but not in ways that are easily recognised. I am thinking of adults with learning difficulties, disabled people, and people who have speech difficulties or language problems. For that reason, the review is very wide-ranging, and will consider the whole process from the investigation to the trial and beyond. It looks at the role of many of the agencies and professionals involved.
There are many issues to be addressed. Many, if not all, are relevant to the needs of victims of domestic violence, among the ranks of vulnerable witnesses and defendants. Such people have a right not to be intimidated. Unfortunately, some of the weakest and most vulnerable in our society have found it most difficult to see a fair trial. We expect to receive the working group's report very shortly. We shall certainly want to respond to it as quickly and as positively as possible. It will make a considerable contribution to improving the standard of justice.
The hon. Member for Twickenham has opened a wide-ranging debate. Indeed, the subject would have justified a debate of hours rather than half an hour. I congratulate him on packing a great deal into his speech, and I hope that I have been able to give some indication of our approach.
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