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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made for his policies of people in the LGBTQ+ community who are made homeless due to fleeing abuse at home.

It is absolutely critical that victims of domestic abuse get support and especially when they are in housing need.

In May 2020 the Government announced its intent to give those who are homeless as a result of being a victim of domestic abuse priority need for accommodation secured by the local authority. This is being taken forward through the Domestic Abuse Bill and will help to ensure victims do not remain with their abuser for fear of not having a roof over their head.

Until this legislative change comes into force, victims of domestic abuse continue to be supported by local authorities through the Homelessness Reduction Act, where authorities have a duty to try and prevent or relieve a household’s homelessness irrespective of whether they are a family or single person, what has put them at risk, or if they have a local connection to the area. This means that all victims of domestic abuse who are at risk of homelessness, including those from the LGBTQ+ community, should be provided with an offer of support from their local authority to find appropriate accommodation.

During the pandemic MHCLG has allocated the £10 million Emergency Support Fund to 147 successful charity bids. In total these are supporting 166 organisations to provide 1,890 bed spaces for victims of domestic abuse. Of those funded, 51 bids were from organisations offering specialised support to diverse groups including BAME and LGBTQ+ victims.