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 of the effect of covid-19 self-isolation on access to refuges for victims of domestic violence.

The Government will do everything it can to support refuge providers to keep these vital services open, up and running.

Government officials are in discussion with domestic abuse service providers who are undertaking their own contingency planning, in line with advice from Public Health England, to keep the national domestic abuse helpline and safe accommodation support services open and available.

Following these discussions, on 23 March my Department published guidance for providers of refuge and other types of safe accommodation with support for victims of domestic abuse and their children.

The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation-provision.

This guidance is in line with current Public Health England advice and sets out guidelines for daily service operation, including where victims may need to self-isolate within refuges and other types of domestic abuse safe accommodation provision.