§ Mr. Simon CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the work of the interdepartmental working group on domestic violence;
(2) which Departments are represented on the interdepartmental working group on domestic violence.
§ Mr. MacleanThe official interdepartmental group on domestic violence considers initiatives designed to ensure that the perpetrators of domestic violence are brought to justice; that victims and their children receive the necessary practical and emotional support; and that preventive strategies to help reduce violence are identified and promoted. Proposals currently being considered by the group include ways of improving inter-agency co-operation at a national and local level and or raising public awareness of domestic violence. These and other related issues will be considered soon by the ministerial group on domestic violence.
Both groups are serviced by the Home Office with representation from the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Law Officer's Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Departments of Employment, Environment, Health and Social Security, the Department for Education, the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland Offices and the Treasury.