Dame Nicole Jacobs has been reappointed as Domestic Abuse Commissioner for a third term, running from September 2025 to September 2028. The Home Office confirmed the decision on 5 December 2025 and stated the process followed the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Jacobs was first named as the designate Commissioner in September 2019 and secured a second three‑year term from September 2022 to September 2025. Before entering the post she led Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse and has worked in the sector for more than two decades.
The office is created by Part 2 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The Commissioner is an independent statutory office holder appointed by the Secretary of State and is not a servant or agent of the Crown. The Act assigns general functions to encourage good practice in preventing domestic abuse, strengthening detection and enforcement, identifying perpetrators, victims and children affected, and improving protection and support.
To discharge these functions the Act enables the Commissioner to assess and publish information on services, make recommendations to public authorities, undertake or fund research, provide information and training, and undertake public awareness activity. These powers underpin a system‑wide scrutiny role spanning criminal justice, health and local government.
Reports produced under section 8 must be published and laid before Parliament. Where a report includes recommendations, named public authorities and Ministers must publish a response within 56 days explaining actions taken or planned. In parallel, specified authorities-including police forces, local authorities, the NHS in England and the Crown Prosecution Service-have a statutory duty to co‑operate with the Commissioner so far as reasonably practicable.
Domestic homicide review conclusions must be sent to the Commissioner, creating a direct evidence stream for system‑level assessment. The Act also provides an information‑sharing gateway subject to data‑protection and patient‑confidentiality safeguards, and limits the Commissioner from intervening in individual cases while permitting analysis of case material to inform wider findings.
Governance and accountability arrangements are set out in a statutory Framework Document issued by the Home Office under section 11. It covers funding, staffing, audit and the working relationship with the Home Secretary, is laid before Parliament and Senedd Cymru, and must be observed by both the Commissioner and the Home Secretary when exercising their functions.
The office operates across England and Wales. In Wales the Commissioner considers reserved matters such as criminal justice and is expected to work closely with the Welsh National Advisers; the Senedd may also require the Commissioner to give evidence on relevant activity.
For police forces, local authorities, NHS bodies and the Crown Prosecution Service, the practical effect is clear: maintain the capacity to co‑operate when requested and to publish responses within 56 days when recommendations are addressed to your organisation. Keeping an agreed internal protocol for evidence collation, approvals and publication supports compliance with these statutory timelines.
The reappointment provides continuity through to September 2028 as the current strategic plan period (September 2022 to September 2025) concludes and a new plan is prepared. The present plan highlights mapping and monitoring of community‑based services and expectations on commissioners and providers-areas that sit squarely within the office’s statutory functions.