Baroness Burt of Solihull
Main Page: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The Bill endeavours to prevent the postcode lottery that has existed for victims of abuse. We are working closely with local authorities, and we have set up a ministerial-led national steering group; we will evaluate all the responses to this, including the expansion of community-based services.
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
As the Minister said, the requirement to provide refuge funding will be included in the Domestic Abuse Bill, and that is extremely welcome. Will the Minister clarify whether refuge facilities will be provided without discrimination to all domestic violence survivors, including children, young people and those with insecure immigration status?
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The noble Baroness raises a very good point, because until now people who have not been eligible for public funds have been unable to access entry into these refuges. The Government introduced the destitution domestic violence concession some years ago to support people who could not access any other form of help at this time of crisis. They have now started a review and will publish their overall response to migrant victims of domestic abuse, including those with no recourse to public funds. This review will specifically consider the committee’s recommendation to extend the period of time that support is offered for, and how this relates to a victim’s ability to access refuge accommodation at all.