Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide additional funding to local authorities for early abuse interventions following increases in domestic violence.

Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we fully recognise the devastating impact it can have on children and young people. That is why the Domestic Abuse Act recognises children as victims if they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse.

In the past year the Home Office has provided over £3 million to specialist services for children who have experienced domestic abuse. The local services funded provide interventions such as therapy, counselling and education schemes.

The Home Office has also provided funding to roll out Operation Encompass nationally. This innovative scheme facilitates schools and police working together to provide emotional and practical support to children affected by domestic abuse. It currently operates in all 43 police forces across England and Wales, therefore ensuring vital early intervention in all local areas.

We are also committing £25 million to tackle perpetrators of domestic abuse. From this, I am pleased to confirm that on Friday 21^st May we launched a new Perpetrator Programme Fund for Police and Crime Commissioners to bid into totalling £11.1m. The purpose of this fund is to support the introduction of more perpetrator programmes in local areas. We have specified that one area we are particularly interested in funding is dedicated provision for adolescents who perpetrate abuse in their adolescent relationships. The competition will be live for six weeks, closing on 2nd July.

Finally, councils across England have been allocated £125 million funding to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children. The money will fund a new duty on councils to ensure victims and their children are able to access life-saving support in safe accommodation – a key part of the government’s landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

More broadly across Government we are determined to ensure that support is available at an early stage for all victims of domestic abuse. Departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Justice are providing funding this financial year for accommodation-based support and wider victim services respectively.