Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support has been made available to (a) Shropshire County Council and (b) Telford and Wrekin Council for the provision of domestic refuges since 2010.

Local authorities are responsible for making local spending decisions. In our Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services, published in 2016, we acknowledged the importance of local authorities taking a strategic approach to provision of these vital services informed by an assessment of local need.

Since 2014, the Department has dedicated £33.5 million in direct grant funding available to all local authorities for refuges, safe accommodation and other services.

In 2015 the Department launched a one year £3.5 million fund to help support victims of domestic abuse. Shropshire County Council submitted a successful bid for this fund and was awarded £45,156. Telford and Wrekin did not submit a bid for this round of funding.

In 2016, the Department launched a two year, £20 million fund for specialist accommodation based support and service reform to meet the Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services. Shropshire County Council worked in partnership with Telford and Wrekin Council and local domestic abuse services to submit a bid and were awarded £115,753.