Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Champion Excerpts

Monday 6th June 2016 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)]

1. What assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of local commissioning criteria on the availability of specialist domestic violence refuges.

[The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)]

Domestic abuse is a devastating crime, and we are determined to ensure that support is available to every victim. We have secured £40 million in the spending review for this purpose, and we will shortly publish a national statement of expectations, drawn up with local government and domestic violence charities, which will set out what every area should offer to ensure victim safety.

[Sarah Champion]

The Secretary of State knows how devastating domestic violence is and how the services provide a literal lifeline. However, specialist services, particularly LGBT and black and minority ethnic services, face a huge funding crisis and many are going to the wall. In the national statement of expectations, will he commit to supporting and ring-fencing money for those specialist services?

[Greg Clark]

Yes, it is important that we have specialist services. That is part of the discussions we are having with the charities through the drawing up of the national statement. We have secured more funding than has been available—three times as much funding—and that will be important. I think there is a wider point here, too, because there are connections between the public space and the domestic space. It is incumbent on all of us to maintain a public sphere in which women are safe from abuse, bullying and harassment, and that example should start from public life.