Domestic Violence (Hansard, 17 November 2003)

§ Margaret Hodge

The Government have proposed a number of measures which will improve the support and protection available to the children and non-abusive partner of a violent parent. These were set out in our consultation paper "Safety and Justice: The Government's Proposals on Domestic Violence" and includemaking sure that child contact arrangements in domestic violence cases guarantee the safety of all parties. We will be expanding the provision of supervised child contact centres and services. Where domestic violence (or other safety issues) features in contact cases it is vital that the families are referred to services that are able to meet their needs, especially on safety. Baroness Ashton of Upholland and I plan to announce successful applicants for funding from a joint Children's Fund/ 543W Sure Start Investment Stream of £2.9 million for new supervised contact services. We expect new services to commence from the New Year; improving the support available to children and young people affected by domestic violence, both for the benefit of the children and young people themselves and to relieve pressures on their parents; providing help for victims of domestic violence as early as possible, and making sure that the civil and criminal law offer the maximum protection to all victims, children and adults, to prevent the violence recurring; providing advice and information to victims on how to get access to support services and legal protection; ensuring an effective police response when victims report domestic violence and ensuring that victims are not deterred by the way they will be treated at any stage of the judicial process; improving the sharing of information so that child and adult victims are better protected and supported; increasing the full range of accommodation options, including supporting people to stay in their own home. Children can particularly suffer by moving away from their friends, school, pets and other familiar surroundings; helping victims who have ended or left a violent relationship to rebuild their lives; and raising awareness about domestic violence among the general public and key professionals;

The Government are currently considering the responses to these proposals.Our Green Paper Every Child Matters recognises that supporting parents and carers is a significant factor in our general strategy to improve children's lives. It sets out the Government's vision of better integrated services for all children that are focused around the needs of the child, to ensure no child falls through the net and all children get the support they need to fulfil their potential: integrating services for children and families within Children's Trusts. This will particularly benefit the families in which children are affected by domestic violence as they may have a range of physical, emotional and psychological needs and may often be in temporary accommodation or moving around; providing access to specialist services. Being a victim of, or witnessing, domestic violence can have a long-term negative impact on children's behaviour, health and educational outcomes. The Green Paper sets out how the Government will seek to ensure specialist provision is available so that all children achieve and are in good physical and mental health; strengthening child protection arrangements. The Green Paper sets out proposals for changes to arrangements for safeguarding children, which we hope will lead to a better response to the needs of vulnerable children including those affected by domestic violence; improving information sharing will ensure that difficulties are picked up earlier and acted upon in a coherent way. We are consulting on the best way to use information about families and parents in such cases to build a complete picture of the risks to the child; improving both universal and targeted support for parents. Such support will be appropriate and non-stigmatising. It will help parents in supporting their children and the universal support in particular will be a gateway to more specialist services, for example, support for families affected by domestic violence; and improving maternity services. 30 per cent. of domestic violence cases start during pregnancy and existing violence often escalates during it. Through the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services the Government are piloting routine antenatal questioning for domestic violence by midwives.