Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill [HL]

It is a seriousissue. The cost of creating a new remedy, if we have50 applications, is about £180,000 a year. It is arguable that in the realm of government budgets that is doable. We will need to consider the resources of the Forced Marriage Unit. The issue will not be raised in my department. Across the Government, in talking about the legislation, I have made it clear that there will be an impact that we need to be aware of. The issue will be addressed properly as we consider this and talk to organisations and as they get access to the departments that will be able to support them. At this point, whether that means that departments are able to give additional resources is not for me to say. The assurance that I am giving is the recognition that this is something that we will have to deal with. I am not in a position to say how at this stage, not least because, as my noble friend knows well, the difficulty is that we do not know precisely what impact there will be. The estimate that we have done of the number of cases is based on the best information that we have, and we can cost that; £4,100 is an average cost of a domestic violence case. Therefore, we have used that as our ballpark figure. We have talked with those who have dealt with these cases in the courts. That is an estimate, and we will have to examine it. The point about the Government doing the legislation is that we recognise that we will have to deal with it, not least in terms of the training and support that is needed.