It has today been confirmed that the Prisons and Courts Bill will not be proceeded with, ahead of the dissolution of Parliament in the run-up to the general election.
The Bill would, amongst other things, have given courts the power to put an end to domestic violence victims being cross-examined by their alleged abusers in the family courts.
Outstanding government bills can be pushed through Parliament before dissolution, in a process known as ‘wash-up’, but this Bill still had too many stages to go through, as it had not yet been to the House of Lords.
There is, however, nothing to stop the Bill being resurrected by the new government, after the election.
Image: Big Ben + Houses Of Parliament, by Alex France, licensed under CC BY 2.0.