Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to victims of domestic violence who have no recourse to public funds.

Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for this Government and we are committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of immigration status. On 30 March, we published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems in place to deliver these goals.

Support is provided to migrant victims of domestic abuse in the UK through our Destitute Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC), which enables individuals to access public funds for three months, which can be used to fund safe accommodation. Migrant victims can also apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) under the Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain Rules. The intention is to safeguard victims of domestic abuse by offering them an immigration status and financial support, independent of the abusive partner.

Following the Government’s review of support to migrant victims in 2020, last year we launched the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme to provide for victims who are not eligible to apply under the DDVC. The 12-month pilot, run by Southall Black Sisters and their delivery partners, and supported with £1.5 million of Government funding, provides support services for migrant victims of domestic abuse. The funding also provides wrap-around support which includes accommodation, subsistence and counselling.

The pilot and independent evaluation by Behavioural Insights Ltd, aims to develop an evidence base, which in turn should allow us to understand requirements for policy development. The evaluation will be producing a final report in Summer 2022.

In the interim, we will provide £1.4 million in 2022-23 to continue to fund support for migrant victims and survivors whilst we take on board vital lessons learned from the pilot to inform future policy decisions.