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 that the process followed the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Jacobs was first appointed in 2019 and previously led the charity Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse.
The role is created by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 as an independent statutory office. The Commissioner is appointed by the Secretary of State but is expressly not a servant or agent of the Crown. The Act sets a general duty to encourage good practice in preventing domestic abuse, improving criminal justice responses, identifying victims and perpetrators, and strengthening protection and support.
Parliamentary accountability is built into statute. The Commissioner may report to the Home Secretary on any matter related to domestic abuse, must publish those reports, and must arrange for copies to be laid before Parliament. In addition, the Commissioner must publish a strategic plan and an annual report, both laid before Parliament, with limited scope for redaction where publication might risk safety or prejudice investigations.
Public bodies have clear duties in relation to the office. Specified authorities-including police forces, local authorities and the Crown Prosecution Service-must, so far as reasonably practicable, co‑operate with the Commissioner when requested. Where the Commissioner makes recommendations in a published report, the relevant public authority or Minister must publish comments setting out intended action or reasons for inaction; Home Office material indicates an expectation that responses are issued within 56 days.
Information flows to the office through set statutory channels. Bodies that conduct domestic homicide reviews must send their conclusions to the Commissioner. Legislation also enables information to be disclosed to, and by, the Commissioner for purposes connected to her functions, subject to data protection and other legal limits.
The remit spans England and Wales. In Wales, the Commissioner considers reserved matters such as criminal justice and is expected to work with the National Advisers on Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence, as reflected in ministerial statements and the statutory framework documentation.
Funding and staffing arrangements are set out in law and guidance. The Secretary of State funds the office and provides staff and facilities; staff are Home Office civil servants seconded to the Commissioner’s office, an administrative arrangement consistent with the office‑holder model and separate from the Commissioner's statutory independence. The Commissioner must also maintain an Advisory Board representing victims’ interests, health, social care, policing/justice and academia.
For councils, police and crime commissioners, NHS bodies and other agencies, the reappointment signals continuity of scrutiny across commissioning, service standards and data transparency. Under section 13 of the Act the Commissioner must publish the next strategic plan for the period after September 2025 and lay it before Parliament, setting out priorities and the work programme for 2025–2028.