Civil servants trained to identify economic abuse

Front-line government tax and benefits staff are to be trained to spot victims of economic abuse, such as when partners or former partners intercept or block welfare payments to maintain control over them.

Ministers have sanctioned a “tool kit” that will help civil servants in various departments, including HMRC and work and pensions, to identify the signs of economic abuse and instruct them in techniques to support victims. Such abuse has been put on a statutory footing for the first time in the Government’s new domestic violence laws.