Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Department has made of the potential effect of changes to the procurement of specialist domestic abuse support for deaf and disabled victims and survivors on (a) waiting times, (b) accessibility, (c) service quality and (d) survivor safety.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As part of āFreedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girlsā, the Home Office committed to deliver specialist VAWG Helplines across England and Wales alongside 1-1 advocacy support for victims of VAWG who are least likely to be able to access support locally.
The competitions to deliver this Ā£24 million investment closed on 31 July 2026. As the competitions are still ongoing, we are unable to comment on the details beyond what has already been published. However, we can provide assurance that the Home Office is working to ensure there is no gap in provision between existing services including for disabled people and the services awarded through the competition.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an equality impact assessment has been completed for the 2026-29 procurement of specialist domestic abuse support for deaf and disabled victims and survivors.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As part of āFreedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girlsā, the Home Office committed to deliver specialist VAWG Helplines across England and Wales alongside 1-1 advocacy support for victims of VAWG who are least likely to be able to access support locally.
The competitions to deliver this Ā£24 million investment closed on 31 July 2026. As the competitions are still ongoing, we are unable to comment on the details beyond what has already been published. However, we can provide assurance that the Home Office is working to ensure there is no gap in provision between existing services including for disabled people and the services awarded through the competition.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Department is taking to prevent an interruption to specialist British Sign Language-accessible domestic abuse support when the current funding period ends in October 2026.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As part of āFreedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girlsā, the Home Office committed to deliver specialist VAWG Helplines across England and Wales alongside 1-1 advocacy support for victims of VAWG who are least likely to be able to access support locally.
The competitions to deliver this Ā£24 million investment closed on 31 July 2026. As the competitions are still ongoing, we are unable to comment on the details beyond what has already been published. However, we can provide assurance that the Home Office is working to ensure there is no gap in provision between existing services including for disabled people and the services awarded through the competition.