New laws are set to come in which will allow people to know whether a partner or former partner have a history of violence or abuse.

Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole-Wilson says work is underway to draft new regulations under the Domestic Abuse Act 2020 to allow people to ask police for any record of such criminality.

A similar domestic violence disclosure scheme has been in place in England and Wales since 2014 and is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her abusive ex-boyfriend in 2009, following the landmark campaign led by Clare’s father Michael Brown.

Mrs Poole-Wilson was responding to a written Tynwald question from Douglas South MHK Claire Christian on what progress has been made with the implementation of a similar scheme to Clare's Law in the UK and how this work will be integrated into the Domestic Abuse Strategy.

The Minister said: ‘The Domestic Abuse Act 2020 provides for the disclosure of information held by the Isle of Man Constabulary for the purposes of preventing and mitigating the effects of Domestic Abuse.

‘In practice, this paves the way for specific regulations to be made under which the Isle of Man Constabulary would disclose information to an individual, either proactively, where the Constabulary has identified a need for this information to be shared, or reactively, where an individual has made an application for information to be shared about another person (e.g. a partner).

‘Officers in the Department of Home Affairs are working closely with the constabulary to develop regulations for a disclosure process on the Island that has a firm footing in statute and can comply with other jurisdictions in terms of its pathways.

‘This work is underway with draft regulations due for stakeholder consultation by January 2025.

‘It is important to note that a Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme is only one part of a broader approach to ensuring victims and survivors of Domestic Abuse are kept safe.’

A domestic abuse forum was set up to develop the approach to tackling the issue and implement the Domestic Abuse Act 2020.

Mrs Poole-Wilson said: ‘Its aim is to provide independent oversight, monitor performance and progress actions that are essential to continually improve the Island’s responses and services relating to Domestic Abuse.

‘The forum reports to the Community Safety Partnership which is aimed at enhancing safety and well-being in the community through collaborative efforts, which involves various governmental and local organisations.’

Ms Christian also asked whether Manx residents could access the Clare’s Law scheme in the UK.

Mrs Poole-Wilson confirmed Manx residents can access the scheme within the relevant police force area and the Isle of Man Constabulary shares information with UK counterparts relating to domestic violence disclosures.