Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. When we take into account housing costs, benefits and all kinds of things, we see that it will be a huge amount of money at the end of the day. Amendments 91 and 92 would widen the definition of ““domestic abuse””, bringing it in line with the definition adopted by the Association of Chief Police Officers. There remain grave concerns about the Government's chosen definition. I know that many other hon. Members feel strongly about this, and I believe, as they do, that the definition in the Bill should accord precisely with ACPO's definition, which is"““any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults, aged 18 and over, who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender and sexuality. (Family members are defined as mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister and grandparents, whether directly related, in-laws or step-family.)””" My amendments would bring the Bill's definition in line with that definition. In Committee, the Minister claimed repeatedly that if we widened the definition of domestic violence, we would have to rely on self-reporting. I do not quite understand that correlation, but never mind. That point was made ad nauseum. I fear that the Government do not realise the gravity of the situation. Considering the criminal under-reporting of domestic abuse, it is astonishing to think that the Government are giving so much weight to allegations of misreporting. Women will, on average, experience 35 incidents of abuse before reporting it to the police, and we should not treat their witness statements lightly. What is more, the Minister claimed that the ACPO definition was not satisfactory, because it did not sufficiently establish objective evidence of abuse. He said that an allegation in itself or a police investigation would not constitute evidence for the purposes of legal aid. Once again, I emphasise to him and his colleagues that domestic violence can be inflicted in more subtle ways that do not leave visible marks and bruises: abuse can be financial, emotional and psychological, and can involve power games drawn out over long periods of months. Vulnerable individuals put their trust in our justice system and the state to support them when things go wrong. We must not lose sight of that responsibility, and we must not abandon victims of domestic abuse to undergo legal proceedings without recourse to legal aid and assistance. The circumstances in which a person suffering domestic abuse must be treated as qualifying for civil legal aid are also excessively narrow and overlook the fact that many victims choose not to report the abuse to police, but seek assistance and medical treatment elsewhere. Amendment 103 would ensure that victims of domestic abuse qualify for legal aid in circumstances outside those narrowly prescribed by the Bill and so ensure that those in need would not go without vital legal aid and assistance. Amendment 93 seeks to ensure that victims of domestic abuse cannot be cross-examined by their alleged abusers. Paragraphs 10 and 11 of schedule 1 provide for legal aid for the alleged victim in family cases involving domestic violence or child abuse, but not for the adults against whom the allegation is made. The consequences of that will be a significant inequality of arms in such cases. In many instances, I fear, the alleged victim will face awful cross-examination from the adults against whom the violence is alleged.