Our autumn budget wish – extra protection for domestic violence survivors

In this year’s autumn budget, we’re calling on the government to scrap the person at risk of violence (PARV) order fee.

The spring budget saw the £90 fee for debt relief orders dropped. We warmly welcomed this move, which meant more people could access desperately needed debt relief.

However, survivors of domestic violence struggling with debt still face the prospect of having to find £308 to secure their safety.

What are domestic abuse survivors paying for?

It’s not uncommon for survivors of domestic and economic abuse to end up applying for an insolvency solution because they can’t afford to repay their debts.

If you’re granted this type of solution, your details, including your address, are usually listed on the public insolvency register.

Anyone who would be at risk of violence as a result of this information being made public can ask for their address to be withheld.

This is done by applying to the court for a person at risk of violence (PARV) order. But that costs £308.

Why we’re asking for the fee to be dropped

For those individuals who have survived domestic violence and are looking for a fresh financial start, the PARV order fee puts them in yet another difficult position.

They can pay the £308 to apply to have their personal details removed from the public insolvency register. However, most of these individuals have no more than £75 a month left over after paying their priority bills, so can’t generally pay the full amount without the risk of falling further into debt.

Alternatively, should they not pay the fee and save the £308, they can cover other living costs but be vulnerable to their abuser finding them and inflicting further harm.

We believe these individuals have already gone through a seriously traumatic experience and should not be put in a situation where they must choose between their safety or paying the bills.

While in some cases, the fee may be waived if applicants meet certain income-related criteria, we don’t support forcing domestic violence survivors to jump through hoops to avoid harm.

Extra benefits of scrapping the PARV order fee

We believe scrapping the PARV order fee will also:

• reduce the risk of repeat domestic violence as it will be harder for aggressors to track down survivors
• give more survivors the confidence to leave their homes and return to employment without fear of being found by an abusive ex
• provide better mental health and quality of life for survivors as they won’t have to constantly look over their shoulder worrying they’ve been tracked down as a result of their address being made public