Backbench Business Committee
21 April 2026
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Backbench Business Committee House of Commons
00:04 - 00:34
Speaker 1
Welcome to the meeting of the Backbench Business Committee, where we we will be considering applications for colleagues for debates in both the chamber and in Westminster Hall on a Tuesday and Thursday. The first application, before us is from Clive Jones, and this is for a debate on domestic abuse and safeguarding within the family justice system. This is for a debate on a Tuesday morning in Westminster Hall. Clive, please present your case.
00:34 - 01:41
Speaker 3
Thank you very much, chair and members of the committee, for letting me speak to my application this afternoon. I'm seeking time for a Westminster Hall debate on domestic abuse, post separation abuse, and safeguarding within the family justice system. The family justice system plays a critical role in determining child arrangements and ensuring the safety safety and the well-being of children following parental separation. However, there's a growing concern amongst my constituents that domestic abuse, especially post separation, is too often minima minimized or misunderstood within family court proceedings, which can also be used as a tool to further abuse victims, survivors and their children. These concerns have been highlighted by survivors, legal practitioners, specialist organisations and Kaleidoscopic UK who are based in my constituency.
01:42 - 04:01
Speaker 2
Domestic abuse is present in the vast majority of cases in the Family Court. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner's Everyday Business Report published in October 2025 found evidence of abuse in around eighty seven percent of cases that they examined, yet concluded that it is frequently not recognized as an active safeguarding issue. While recent reforms including the removal of the presumption of parental work involvement are welcome, there is clear evidence that abuse is continuing through litigation and court processes themselves. Survivors report that systems intended to protect them are in some cases enabling further harm to them and their children and not recognizing the patterns of abusive parents. The consequences become deeply serious.
Women's aid has documented sixty seven child deaths over the past thirty years linked to unsafe contact arrangements with abusive parents. In addition, the home office data recorded ninety eight suspected suicides following domestic abuse in the year to the March 2024. This debate would provide an important opportunity to examine whether the introduction of independent domestic abuse advisers in the family courts on a case by case basis could improve the process and outcome of all support and better informed decision making drawing on their insight and expertise. The introduction of advisors would challenge any attempts by Davo and highlight any patterns present and generate important safeguarding recommendations. It would also allow members from across the house to raise constituency cases and reflect the lived experience of survivors navigating the system.
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