Consultation outcome

Police statutory guidance on domestic abuse protection notices and orders: government response

Updated 27 November 2024

Ministerial foreword

The government’s Safer Streets Mission sets an unprecedented aim to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade. Taking action to tackle domestic abuse is at the heart of achieving this ambition.

Domestic abuse is abhorrent and must not be tolerated in our society, yet 2.2 million people are estimated to have experienced domestic abuse in the year ending June 2024. ^{[footnote 1]} That is why we are piloting domestic abuse protection notices (DAPN) to give victims the immediate protection they need; and domestic abuse protection orders (DAPO) to ensure that victims can remain protected for as long as they need it and that perpetrators are monitored and managed appropriately.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 legislated for a new domestic abuse protection notice (DAPN) and domestic abuse protection order (DAPO). The new cross-jurisdictional order brings together the strongest elements of existing orders to protect victims and provide flexible, longer-term protection through a single comprehensive order and will be piloted for at least a year.

The DAPN and DAPO will provide protection from all forms of domestic abuse and will allow courts to impose a range of requirements. This includes attendance on perpetrator behaviour change programmes, alongside electronic monitoring (‘tagging’) and making it mandatory for offenders to notify the police of name and address changes. Unlike certain protective orders (such as the current domestic violence protection order) the DAPO will not have a minimum or maximum duration, which allows victims to obtain the protection they require for as long as needed, and breach of any requirement will be a criminal offence.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to this consultation. This is exceptionally important work and essential to ensuring the success of the pilot, which is launching today. 

Jess Phillips MP

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls

Introduction

This document is the post-consultation report for the consultation paper ‘Statutory guidance on domestic abuse protection notices and protection orders’.

It will cover:

• the government’s approach
• the background to the consultation
• a summary of the consultation responses
• a detailed response to the specific questions raised in the report
• the next steps following this consultation

Background

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the Act’) legislated for a new police issued civil domestic abuse protection notice (DAPN) and domestic abuse protection order (DAPO). The new order aims to bring together the strongest elements of existing orders into a single comprehensive flexible order to provide greater protection to victims from all forms of domestic abuse.

The Act requires the Home Office to issue statutory guidance for police with a comprehensive framework for implementing the DAPN and DAPO ahead of pilot launch.

The consultation paper ‘Statutory guidance on domestic abuse protection and protection orders’ was published on 20 February 2024 and was open for a period of eight weeks. It invited comments on whether the DAPN and DAPO statutory guidance for police was clear and comprehensive.

The guidance detailed the policy positions and operational processes for police-led applications for a DAPN and DAPO, and the consultation questions invited input into both technical details and wider reflections on the guidance.

This consultation was open to all interested parties; however, specifically sought views from frontline professionals across the domestic abuse sector, operational policing colleagues, domestic abuse services, prosecutors of domestic abuse and relevant local services to the DAPN and DAPO pilot sites.

The consultation period closed on 16 April 2024 and this report summarises the responses, including how the consultation process influenced the final shape of the guidance. A Welsh language summary will follow in due course.

An Impact Assessment was created for the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which encompassed DAPNs and DAPOs. Therefore, it was not included in this consultation and was not commented on or revised.

Methodology

The consultation was designed in a modular way to reflect different sections in the draft statutory guidance and to allow respondents to focus on the areas of most relevance to them.

The consultation sought both quantitative and qualitative feedback on the draft statutory guidance – the questionnaire allowed respondents to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each question, and free text boxes allowed respondents to provide further detail.

As well as the online questionnaire, respondents were able to submit queries and responses to a dedicated inbox. 

Summary of responses

A total of 39 responses (20 completed survey responses, 18 email responses and 1 correspondence response) to the consultation paper were received. A variety of organisations and individuals responded to this consultation, of these, many responses were received from organisations, in particular Violence Against Women and Girls charities and service providers.

All responses have been analysed and given full consideration in the preparation of the final statutory guidance. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to respond, particularly those with lived experience of abuse who shared their experience with us.

Table 1 below provides a breakdown of the consultation responses by type of respondent

Table 1: Types of consultation respondent.

Consultation respondent	Response percentage [footnote 2]	Response total
Individual	39%	13
Organisation	61%	20
Total non-blank responses	-	33
Not identified	-	6
Total responses	-	39

Table 2 below provides a breakdown of the consultation responses by type of organisation, for those responded as part of or on behalf of an organisation.

Table 2: Type of organisation that responded

Consultation respondent	Response percentage [footnote 3]	Response total [footnote 4]
Law enforcement agency (police, policing body, Crown Prosecution Service)	15%	3
Local authority	10%	2
Specialist domestic abuse services	20%	4
Healthcare organisation	0%	0
Violence against women and girls charity / service provider	40%	8
Other	15%	3
Total non-blank responses	-	20
Not identified	-	0
Total responses	-	20

Table 3 below provides a breakdown of the consultation responses by region where the individual or organisation is based.

Table 3: Responses by region where the individual or organisation is based

Regions	Response percentage [footnote 5]	Response total
East Midlands	0%	0
East of England	0%	0
London	12%	2
National	47%	8
Northeast	12%	2
Northwest	12%	2
Southeast	6%	1
Southwest	6%	1
Wales	0%	0
West Midlands	0%	0
Yorkshire and the Humber	6%	1
Total non-blank responses	-	17
Not identified	-	22
Total	-	39

The remainder of the document provides a summary of the consultation responses received. It does not attempt to capture every point made, nor does it cover comments on aspects of policy that fall outside the scope of the consultation. This document sets out the changes the government has made to the statutory guidance, following careful consideration of the points raised in the consultation. Where the government has not made changes the reasons are explained.

Responses to specific questions

The consultation sought feedback on the statutory guidance, which was used to inform revisions of the guidance to support finalising the document to be issued. A total of 16 questions were put forward as part of the consultation. Questions 1-7 were about the consultee and are provided in the ‘Summary of responses’ section. Questions 8-16 were about the draft statutory guidance and were designed to be open-ended to solicit information on content and clarity, these are set out below.

Please note not all respondents answered every question and not all respondents provided comments in the format below.

Q8. Overall, do you think this statutory guidance provides clear and comprehensive information to police for using DAPNs and DAPOs?​ If not, what would you recommend is amended? Please be specific in any response.

Q9. Is the process outlined in ‘Section 3 – Conditions for making a domestic abuse protection order (DAPO)’ clear in terms of the content or clarity?

Q10. Do you have any comments on ‘Section 6 – DAPO prohibitions and positive requirements’ in terms of the content or clarity?

Q11. Do you have any comments on ‘Section 7 – Electronic Monitoring’ in terms of the content or clarity?

Q12. Do you have any comments on ‘Section 8 – Notification requirements’ in terms of the content or clarity?

Q13. Do you have any comments on the process detailed in ‘Annex B- DAPN/DAPO process map’?

Q14. Do you have any suggestions on what could be included in this statutory guidance for police, noting that additional guidance will be provided to organisations such as victim/survivors, third parties, and the courts?

Q15. Do you think this statutory guidance provides enough information to police on protected characteristics? Please enter ‘Yes’ if no further comment.

Q16. Do you have any comments on any specific sections or annexes of the statutory guidance that haven’t been covered in previous questions, including the process map at Annex B? Please enter ‘No’ if no further comment.

Key themes and issues

All answers to each question were reviewed and categorised under key themes for thematic analysis. All responses have been analysed and the most recurring and pertinent issues raised are summarised as follows:

• broader policing concerns and wider domestic abuse policy
• length and detail of the statutory guidance
• clarity regarding technical aspects of the DAPO
• police training, accountability and understanding of domestic abuse
• supporting victims
• particularly vulnerable victims of abuse
• differentiating between domestic abuse and stalking
• resourcing and funding

In the following section we have used the terms ‘most’ to refer to themes or comments that were overwhelmingly prevalent in the responses received, ‘some’ to refer to comments that were raised to a lesser extent but in a considerable number of responses and ‘a small number of’ where themes were mentioned by only a few respondents, but we thought it important to address.

Broader policing concerns and wider domestic abuse policy

Consultation response

A small number of respondents commented on issues relating to wider domestic abuse policy and broader policing concerns regarding their whole system response to domestic abuse; for example, perpetrators exploiting the system designed to protect victims.

Government response

Whilst their input is welcomed, the feedback provided was beyond the scope of the consultation and outside the remit of the statutory guidance, and as such has not been covered in depth in the government response to the consultation.

We would like to assure those individuals who have taken the time to respond to this consultation that tackling domestic abuse is a government priority. We have set an ambitious aim to halving violence against women and girls in a decade which will require us to take a transformative approach to the way we work together across government, public services, the private sector, and charities, to be successful in achieving it.

Length and detail of the statutory guidance

Consultation response

Whilst most respondents provided positive feedback on the guidance in terms of its depth of content and clarity, some respondents called for the statutory guidance to be simplified, commenting that its length would mean it unlikely to be used.

Government response

The guidance is purposefully designed to be a comprehensive statutory document. The guidance contains the necessary technical operational and legislative detail for police officers to implement DAPNs and DAPOs. The government has noted the points raised, and amended the document to ensure sections are as succinct as possible and added hyperlinks to the relevant legislation and supporting documents where possible.

Clarity regarding technical aspects of the DAPO

Consultation response

Whilst most respondents called for the guidance to be simplified, others commented that they wanted additional detail and clarity on some technical aspects of the DAPN and DAPO. Particularly relating to breach of an order and bail, whereby respondents were concerned about victims’ cases not being effectively dealt with when a perpetrator repeatedly breaches a protective order. Other respondents requested additional information regarding recording on the Police National Computer (PNC), the practical elements of electronic monitoring and the accessibility of positive requirements.

There was also a call from a small number of respondents for additional guidance to be developed for non-piloting police forces regarding how to deal with breach and notification requirements, and clearer mechanisms to ensure the guidance is adopted consistently nationally.

Government response

We have included additional clarification on breach of a DAPO, bail processes, and the PNC within the guidance to support police in effectively implementing and monitoring DAPOs to support victims. Supplementary guidance and information on electronic monitoring and positive requirements will be provided to piloting forces and updates in relation to these aspects will be considered when updating the guidance at the point of expected national rollout.

Guidance for non-piloting forces is out of scope for this consultation. However, we would like to assure respondents that information will be sent to non-piloting forces on the DAPN and DAPO pilot ahead of pilot launch. The government continues to work closely with the police, the College of Policing, the Judicial College, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and the sector to develop and embed guidance and training for the pilot.  

Police training, accountability and understanding of domestic abuse

Consultation response

Most respondents stressed the need for police to receive adequate training in order to effectively implement the new protective notice and order. Concerns were raised that the guidance did not fully reflect the updated definition of domestic abuse and focused on incidents of domestic abuse rather than all types of abusive behaviour. Some respondents also highlighted a lack of clarity on the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the pilot, particularly relating to non-piloting forces and the responsible person for novel aspects of the order such as electronic monitoring and positive requirements.

Government response

The importance of acknowledging all forms of domestic abuse in the guidance and moving away from an incident as an example has been noted and the guidance has been amended to reflect this more fully.  

Police training is outside the scope of this statutory guidance, which aims to provide a comprehensive guide as to the obligations for forces under the DAPO. We continue to work closely with the College of Policing on supplementary training and guidance products for police forces. In addition to this, piloting forces have engaged extensively with operational partners at a local and national level to prepare for pilot launch and determine roles and responsibilities.

Supporting victims

Concerns were raised by some respondents that the statutory guidance had limited focus on the victims’ experience, for example, a lack of information on victim and third party led applications, and that police should be required to signpost domestic abuse support services. Some respondents also conveyed that a lack of detail and practical guidance for police on dealing with individuals with protected characteristics could be detrimental. For example, a lack of awareness from police on the different ways abuse can manifest and present across protected characteristic groups and how this might materialise through the use of DAPNs and DAPOs.

Government response

This statutory guidance is for police-led applications for DAPNs and DAPOs. However, we acknowledge the feedback that it is important the guidance levels up the knowledge of police forces in all application routes. In response we have included additional guidance for police, encouraging them to engage with local support services throughout the process and have included a flowchart outlining the different routes to a DAPO.

We note the feedback raised on protected characteristics and appreciate these can act as a barrier in reporting domestic abuse to the police. Further information on the different experiences, needs and related considerations, including situational characteristics, can be found in Chapter 5 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance.

Particularly vulnerable victims of abuse

Consultation response

Some respondents raised concerns regarding particularly vulnerable victims of abuse, such as those aged 16-17 and migrant victims, and called for the statutory guidance to include more detail and consider its impact on these demographics. It was also expressed that the establishment of a data-sharing firewall between police and Immigration Enforcement would support migrant victims to feel more confident reporting in domestic abuse.

Government response

We have sought to reflect this feedback, where possible, within the statutory guidance, and included reference to the wording regarding both children as victims and migrant victims in the Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance, and clarified the notification and referral process for children.

The government has noted and recognises concerns regarding a data-sharing firewall, and is committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse. Anyone who has suffered domestic abuse must be treated as a victim first and foremost, regardless of their immigration status. The government is currently considering support for migrant victims of domestic abuse as a whole, and specifically are considering initiatives which will support victims to report to the police.

Differentiating between domestic abuse and stalking

Consultation response

A concern was raised in relation to how police would differentiate stalking behaviour from domestic abuse due to its unique criminality, and which protective order would be most appropriate to use.

Government response

We have signposted the relevant Stalking Protection Order (SPO) guidance and added clarification that the police should consider which protections are most appropriate based on the perpetrator’s behaviour. This is alongside the victim’s views on whether they would prefer DAPO or a SPO on balance of the protections available. During the pilot, we will look to understand how DAPOs are used over and compared to SPOs.

We have also added that police should consider whether a forced marriage protection order or female genital mutilation protection order would be more appropriate than a DAPN or DAPO on balance of the protections available.

Resourcing and funding

Consultation response

A small number of respondents communicated the guidance lacked clarity on how the DAPN and DAPO pilot will be both funded and resourced, particularly in relation to the demand on courts and local services.

Government response

The resourcing and funding of the DAPN and DAPO pilot falls outside the scope of this consultation and as such no changes to the statutory guidance have been implemented.

Conclusion and next steps

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the consultation on statutory guidance on domestic abuse protection notices and protection orders, and contributed to updating the guidance to take into account comments from respondents. The responses we received generally welcomed the guidance and where the consultation highlighted areas that could be strengthened, we have worked at pace to reflect those comments.

We issued the updated and final version of the statutory guidance on domestic abuse protection notices and protection orders on GOV.UK on 27 November 2024, alongside this government response to the consultation. We will continue to work with frontline agencies to onboard any comments for consideration and will be frequently reviewing the statutory guidance for the duration of the pilot.

Officials continue to work closely with operational partners including piloting forces, the courts, the Judiciary, CPS, probation services, and the Legal Aid Agency to ensure that partners are ready to implement the DAPO pilot.

Contact us

Alternative format versions of this publication and additional copies of this report and the consultation paper can be obtained by contacting DAPO Policy Team at the address below:

DAPN and DAPO statutory guidance consultation
Interpersonal Abuse Unit
Home Office
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Email: [email protected]

If you have any complaints or comments about the consultation process, you should contact the Home Office at the above address.

Footnotes

1. Crime Survey for England and Wales, respondents aged over 16 in England and Wales. ↩

2. Due to rounding percentages do not always add up to 100% ↩

3. Due to rounding percentages do not always add up to 100% ↩

4. Out of those responding as part of or on behalf of an organisation. ↩

5. Due to rounding percentages do not always add up to 100% ↩