Government staff to be trained to spot economic abuse victims

Frontline government staff are set to receive training to spot signs of economic abuse in order to support vulnerable people and prevent them from getting into debt.

A new toolkit has been developed, with guidance for frontline staff in departments such as HMRC and DWP.

The Economic Abuse Toolkit includes guidance on spotting the signs of economic abuse and creating an appropriate environment for victims to disclose their experiences. Staff will receive training on how to handle declarations sensitively and ensure victims get the support they need.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said: "Economic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we are determined to use all levers of government to stamp it out.

"It is a problem that is often hard to spot and this new toolkit will give staff on the front line the tools to help identify and protect vulnerable people.

"Through helping people access the support they need, this toolkit will help us tackle this crime and get victims out of abusive relationships and into safe spaces."

Examples of economic abuse can include abusers preventing victims claiming support which they are entitled to in order to make them financially dependent; victims being unable to communicate their financial position and therefore not being able to access government support, victims being unable to claim for support due to the abuser putting everything in their own name, abusers putting bills to government in the victim’s name and then refusing to pay and abusers gaining access to financial information regarding the victim without adequate consent.

The Toolkit was created by the Fairness Group, a collaboration led by the Cabinet Office's Government Debt Management Function.

Charity Surviving Economic Abuse, which contributed to the toolkit, noticed an 85 per cent increase in traffic to their website during the pandemic.

Plans are in place for departments to integrate the guidance into their training for frontline workers and it is hoped the Toolkit will be used elsewhere in the public sector, including local councils.

Minister for Safeguarding, Sarah Dines said: "Domestic abuse can come in many forms, and economic abuse is a particularly insidious one, with significant and complex impacts on victims.

"Following the passage of the Domestic Abuse Act and the publication of our Domestic Abuse Plan, I am committed to building on this momentum to improve the response to economic abuse. The public sector and its frontline services have a key role to play in this."

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