Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of domestic violence refuges which have closed as a result of lack of funding in each of the last five years.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Domestic Abuse is a devastating crime. That is why we are determined to ensure that victims get the help they need when they need it. In last year's Spending Review we secured new £40 million funding to support victims of domestic abuse.
It is for local areas to assess their needs for domestic abuse services and to make decisions on the provision of safe accommodation, including refuges and support for victims of domestic abuse.
In the new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy published on the 8 March, we set out our ambition to improve services for women suffering from domestic abuse, commiting to a new Statement of Expectations to set out for the first time what we expect from local areas.
To support this, we are launching a new two year fund for refuges and other forms of accommodation-based support and to help local areas take the steps they need to meet the National Statement.
The new funding builds on the £3.5 million funding to support victims of domestic abuse and is on top of the £10 million funding to stop refuges closing and strengthen the provision of safe accommodation in the last spending review period.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many women living in council housing have requested a change of tenancy because of violence in the last 12 months; and what proportion of those women were given a direct transfer within one month.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We do not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.112 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how much of the planned £40 million spending for services for victims of domestic abuse he plans will be spent in each of the next four years; and in each such year what programmes or policies that spending is planned to support.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Details of how the £40 million fund will be used to support victims of domestic abuse will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to publish data on (a) women's homelessness, (b) the number of women who become homeless in a reporting period and (c) the length of their homelessness.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 13 March 2014, Official Report, column 311-312W.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to prevent and tackle women's homelessness.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
This Government has invested £470 million to prevent and tackle all forms of homelessness over the spending review period. The homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing all forms of homelessness and rough sleeping the Government. We have:
• Invested nearly £2 million to stop unlawful practice of councils placing families in B&Bs for more than 6 weeks;
• Supported the roll out of ‘No Second Night Out' schemes across England, helping 67 per cent of rough sleepers off the streets after a single night;
• Invested £42.5 million to improve rough sleeper hostels;
• Made it easier for councils to help move homeless families out of temporary accommodation more quickly by using good-quality privately rented accommodation - backed up by a £1 billion investment to expand the rented sector; and
• Supported Local authorities to deliver high quality housing solutions for vulnerable people through the Gold Standard scheme. Councils aiming for the Standard are supported by £1.7 million worth of training and other support.
The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why local authorities provide a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.
This Department also funds UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. It enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many firefighters in South Yorkshire retired before the age of 60 in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Department collects information on numbers of normal and early retirements only, it does not collect information on the specific age of these firefighters at retirement. To assist the hon. Member a table containing this information has been provided.
Wholetime and Retained Duty System firefighters leavers from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority 2002/03 - 2012/13 | |
Compulsory/voluntary age retirements | |
2002-03 | 30 |
2003-04 | 26 |
2004-05 | 43 |
2005-06 | 35 |
2006-07 | 19 |
2007-08 | 29 |
2008-09 | 64 |
2009-10 | 43 |
2010-11 | 27 |
2011-12 | 18 |
2012-13 | 30 |
The Department collects information on retirements at Fire and Rescue Authority level only.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the mean retirement age of a firefighter was in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Department collects information on numbers of normal and early retirements only, it does not collect information on the specific age of these firefighters at retirement. To assist the hon. Member a table containing this information has been provided.
Wholetime and Retained Duty System firefighters leavers from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority 2002/03 - 2012/13 | |
Compulsory/voluntary age retirements | |
2002-03 | 30 |
2003-04 | 26 |
2004-05 | 43 |
2005-06 | 35 |
2006-07 | 19 |
2007-08 | 29 |
2008-09 | 64 |
2009-10 | 43 |
2010-11 | 27 |
2011-12 | 18 |
2012-13 | 30 |
The Department collects information on retirements at Fire and Rescue Authority level only.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many firefighters in Rotherham retired before the age of 60 years in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Department collects information on numbers of normal and early retirements only, it does not collect information on the specific age of these firefighters at retirement. To assist the hon. Member a table containing this information has been provided.
Wholetime and Retained Duty System firefighters leavers from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority 2002/03 - 2012/13 | |
Compulsory/voluntary age retirements | |
2002-03 | 30 |
2003-04 | 26 |
2004-05 | 43 |
2005-06 | 35 |
2006-07 | 19 |
2007-08 | 29 |
2008-09 | 64 |
2009-10 | 43 |
2010-11 | 27 |
2011-12 | 18 |
2012-13 | 30 |
The Department collects information on retirements at Fire and Rescue Authority level only.