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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department has provided to Portsmouth City Council over the past two years for domestic abuse services and to tackle violence against women and girls.

This Government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed. To support delivery of this duty, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government provided £160 million to local authorities in 2025-26 and has committed a further £499 million over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29.

Portsmouth City Council received £645,233 in 2025-26 and has been allocated £645,233 in 2026-27 to support the provision of domestic abuse safe accommodation services.

While overall funding for the duty has increased, allocations have been updated using the latest population, deprivation and areas cost data to reflect current local need and costs. A funding floor has been applied to guarantee that no local authority receives less than its 2025-26 allocation over the settlement period, while continuing to target funding where need is greatest.