Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities follow best practice in commissioning domestic abuse services, including recognising the potential role of specialist community-based organisations.

The government is committed to support victims of domestic abuse. This is part of the government’s wider mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade as set out in the Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy published on 18 December.

Since 2021, local authorities in England have a statutory duty to assess local need and commission safe accommodation-based support for victims and their children. To support delivery of this duty, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government provided local authorities in England £160 million in 2025/26, a £30 million uplift from the previous year, and £499 million funding will be allocated to local authorities over the next three years.

Statutory guidance to local authorities is available on gov.uk here providing further details on how the duty should be delivered.

MHCLG continues to work closely with local authorities, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and sector partners to promote best practice, support delivery and drive continuous improvement in the commissioning of safe accommodation services.

Ensuring victims receive the right and timely support is also central to the Government’s mission. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years, and together with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) has published guidance here to help local commissioners in their role of supporting victims of all crime, including domestic abuse, focusing on sharing best practice and effective collaboration.