Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 29th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am not sure that that was linked to the right question. Let us move on.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Wyre) (Lab)]

6. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

10. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)]

Our cross-Government violence against women and girls strategy, published on 18 December, sets out our strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators and support victims, delivering our unprecedented commitment to halve the levels of violence against women and girls within a decade.

[Cat Smith]

Survivors of male violence often take a long time to rebuild their lives. I am supporting a constituent at the moment whose perpetrator is about to be released from prison but who is receiving no support from Lancaster city council, her housing provider, to enable her to relocate to another area so that the perpetrator is not released into the same community. What advice can the Minister give me, and my constituent, to support that housing move so that she and her children can feel safe?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for supporting her constituents so diligently, and for raising this matter with me today. The Government are committed to ensuring that victims of domestic abuse can access the support that they need to get safe accommodation to rebuild their lives. Under part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, local authorities in England are required to assess the need for safe accommodation and commission specialist support for victims and their children. To support that delivery, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will provide nearly £500 million over the next three years for accommodation for domestic abuse victims who are homeless and eligible for that accommodation. Offenders released from prison are subject to licence requirement conditions, and my hon. Friend’s constituent should be receiving support from her victim liaison officer.