Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of specialist BME refuges for victims of domestic violence that have closed in the last 12 months as a result of local authorities switching contracts to larger generic charities.
The Government does not hold this data centrally. Local authorities often make commissioning decisions based on their specific local needs.
The Government recognises the support that BAME specialist refuges provide for victims of domestic abuse and their children. During 2020/21 we have funded and supported specialist refuges, including BAME specialist services, through our £10 million domestic abuse COVID-19 emergency funding.