Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding available to specialist services that support victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Tackling domestic abuse and ensuring victims receive the support they need is a priority for this Government. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act will strengthen our protection to victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. It includes the first legal definition of domestic abuse, improved support for victims in the courts, new offences and strengthened legislation around cruel acts of controlling or coercive behaviour.
The Act also places a duty on local authorities in England to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation, backed by £125 million of Government funding to ensure that these vital services are available to anyone who needs them, wherever they live. This will be supported by a new £6 million Domestic Abuse Capacity Building Fund to help Local Authorities prepare for the upcoming duty.
Last week we published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems processes in place needed to deliver these goals.
The Plan invests over £230 million into tackling domestic abuse. This includes over £140 million to support victims, including over £47 million in ringfenced funding for victims’ services and £81m for 700 extra independent domestic violence and sexual violence advocate roles.
As committed in the cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy published on 21 July last year, the Home Office has also provided an additional £1.5 million funding this year for ‘by and for’ service provision and to further increase funding for valuable specialist services for victims of violence against women and girls.
The Home Office is also planning to double funding for survivors of sexual violence and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline by 2024-25, and further increase funding for all the national helplines it supports.
The VAWG National Statement of Expectations, and Commissioning Toolkit, which we have published alongside the Plan, will also provide support to commissioners to help them increase provision of ‘by and for’ and specialist services.
The Plan sets out several key indicators we will use to determine its effectiveness, and we will monitor changes in the prevalence of domestic abuse through the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The implementation of both the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and the VAWG Strategy will be integrated and overseen by the Home Secretary, through the VAWG Inter-Ministerial Group. This group will monitor delivery of the commitments made in both documents and changes in their key metrics to determine the impact of the measures being implemented.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of refuge services available to people fleeing domestic violence.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Many local areas already provide services that ensure those fleeing from devastating abuse have somewhere safe to go, but this has not been uniform across the country and the right support has not always been available for all victims.
That is why we introduced a new statutory duty on local authorities within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure that all victims, including children, have access to safety and support within safe accommodation when they need it.
This has been backed by £125 million funding for 2021/22 and a further £125 million funding will be allocated to local authorities for the delivery of their duties in 2022/23.
Local authorities are required to report back to Government on a yearly basis on how they have delivered their duties and I am chairing, alongside the Domestic Abuse commissioner, a National Expert Steering Group to oversee delivery and ensure it meets the needs of all victims.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to give support to victims of domestic abuse to help pay mortgage costs and legal fees following financial abuse in a relationship.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Tackling domestic abuse is a Government priority and improving the response to economic abuse is integral to this. Under our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021, economic abuse is now recognised in law as part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse - in recognition of the devasting impact in can have on victims’ lives.
Soon we will also publish our Domestic Abuse Plan, which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems in place needed to deliver these goals.
It is vital that agencies and the financial sector are also able to effectively respond to economic abuse and support victims. In February 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published updated guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, including specific reference to economic control and abuse when considering what can contribute to an individual’s vulnerability. Financial services should also refer to UK Finance’s updated Financial Abuse Code which aims to increase awareness of economic abuse and sets out how participating banks and building societies should support customers.
Victims of domestic abuse are eligible for legal aid to assist with legal fees, subject to a means and merits test. The government is carrying out a review of the means test for legal aid which will consider the experiences of victims of domestic abuse. The review will also look at the capital thresholds for victims, which will include considering how assets (including property) are assessed. We plan to publish the means test review shortly.
In December 2020, we brought forward legislation to improve eligibility for civil legal aid. This removed the £100k cap on the amount of mortgage debt that can be deducted from the value of a person’s property in the means test. This means all mortgage debt will be deducted from the property’s value when assessing eligibility for civil legal aid.
The Government also offers “Support for Mortgage Interest” (SMI) loans to homeowners in receipt of an income-related benefit to help prevent repossession. The Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol also makes clear that repossession must always be the last resort. As such, it is vital that homeowners who are having trouble paying their mortgage or are worried about meeting payments, make early contact with their lender.
In addition, we support and fund organisations that promote awareness of economic abuse, including Surviving Economic Abuse who have received £567,000 of funding between 2018-2022 to increase awareness of economic abuse and support victims.
Furthermore, as part of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 the Government introduced a new legal duty on local authorities to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation including refuges, backed by £125 million of Government funding to ensure that these vital services are available to anyone who needs them, wherever they live.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help accommodate domestic abuse survivors with dogs access refuges and accommodation easily.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Domestic Abuse Act includes the first statutory definition of domestic abuse, outlining that this can encompass a wide range of behaviours that can affect many aspects of a victim’s life and relationships, including those with pets. The Act also amended the definition of ‘personally connected’, removing the ‘living together’ requirement for the controlling or coercive behaviour offence. This means, as of Spring 2022, the offence will now apply to intimate partners, ex-partners or family members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together, better capturing post-separation abuse.
The draft Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance published for consultation, and the upcoming Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance, both recognise that domestic abuse can involve violence or threats against pets. Both pieces of guidance seek to support agencies in identifying and responding to domestic abuse and reducing risk to victims. Finalised Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance will be issued after all relevant updates have been made. The Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Guidance will be published for consultation shortly.
Victims of domestic abuse with pets can face additional barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) introduced a new legal duty within the Domestic Abuse Act on local authorities, which came into force on 1 October 2021, to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation including refuges, backed by £125 million of Government funding to ensure that these vital services are available to anyone who need them, wherever they live. This includes victims who have a pet. Associated regulations provide clear definitions of safe accommodation under the duty. Local authorities can refer to the regulations to help them provide support in safe accommodation suitable for victims with pets fleeing domestic abuse.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to assess the adequacy of access to refuges for migrant victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
This Government is committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of immigration status. We know that access to safe accommodation can be a vital lifeline for those fleeing an abusive situation.
In April this year the Home Office launched the £1.5 million Support for Migrant Victims Scheme to support migrant victims of domestic abuse who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). The pilot is being run by Southall Black Sisters and their delivery partners for a duration of 12 months and provides accommodation and wrap-around support. We have also appointed an independent evaluator, Behavioural Insights Ltd, to assess the Scheme, with a view to producing a final report in Summer 2022. The Scheme will help the Government secure an accurate picture of the support needs of migrant victims of domestic abuse and will inform subsequent policy decisions.
We already offer support to migrant victims of domestic abuse in the UK as a partner under the family Immigration Rules, through our Destitute Domestic Violence Concession, which enables individuals to access public funds for three months and can be used to fund safe accommodation. These victims can also apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) under the Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain Rules.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether an EU citizen fleeing domestic abuse who misses the EU Settlement Scheme 30 June 2021 deadline and subsequently makes a late application will be eligible for (a) local authority homelessness assistance and (b) a place in a women’s refuge, while she waits for a decision on her EUSS application.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Guidance on eligibility for homelessness assistance in England can be found in chapter 7 of the statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance. This is available at www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities
Individual refuges will make their own decision on whether to accept an EEA citizen who has missed the deadline for the EUSS
The Government has been clear we will take a flexible and pragmatic approach where a person has reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline for making an application to the EUSS. The Home Office is putting in place measures to expedite the processing of late applications from vulnerable people, (including victims of domestic abuse) using existing processes with charities, their network of grant funded organisations, local authorities and others to identify and expedite such cases.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the outcome of the review of the School Admissions Code.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
In 2020 the Government consulted on changes to the School Admissions Code (the Code) to improve the in year admission process for all children, including those fleeing domestic abuse, and to improve Fair Access Protocols, which act as a safety net for the most vulnerable children. The new Code and associated regulations were laid before Parliament on 13 May and, subject to Parliamentary procedure, they will come into force 1 September. On the same day, the Government published the response to the consultation which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-school-admissions-code--4.
The new Code ensures that unplaced children who are living in a refuge or other relevant accommodation will be eligible to be considered by a Fair Access Protocol, which exists to ensure that unplaced and vulnerable children are allocated a school place as quickly as possible. Relevant accommodation, for the purposes of the Code, means a safe place to stay for victims and their children fleeing domestic abuse. This can include, but is not limited to, refuges, specialist safe accommodation, sanctuary schemes and second stage accommodation.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that the Fair Access Protocol under the School Admissions Code includes all children escaping domestic abuse, not only those in refuges.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
In 2020 the Government consulted on changes to the School Admissions Code (the Code) to improve the in year admission process for all children, including those fleeing domestic abuse, and to improve Fair Access Protocols, which act as a safety net for the most vulnerable children. The new Code and associated regulations were laid before Parliament on 13 May and, subject to Parliamentary procedure, they will come into force 1 September. On the same day, the Government published the response to the consultation which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-school-admissions-code--4.
The new Code ensures that unplaced children who are living in a refuge or other relevant accommodation will be eligible to be considered by a Fair Access Protocol, which exists to ensure that unplaced and vulnerable children are allocated a school place as quickly as possible. Relevant accommodation, for the purposes of the Code, means a safe place to stay for victims and their children fleeing domestic abuse. This can include, but is not limited to, refuges, specialist safe accommodation, sanctuary schemes and second stage accommodation.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the benefit cap on levels of demand on refuges.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Domestic abuse survivors living in refuges provided by not-for-profit organisations can apply for help with their housing costs through Housing Benefit. During this time, their Housing Benefit is exempt from the Benefit Cap.
Housing Benefit claimants living in refuges can also apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment to help with the cost of moving into settled accommodation.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on improving access to women's refuges.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department has been working closely with colleagues in other Government Departments, including the Government Equalities Office, to prepare for the implementation of the new duty.
Many local areas already provide services that ensure victims have somewhere safe to go. To support these services further we have introduced a new statutory duty on local authorities within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure that all victims, including children, have access to safety and support within safe accommodation when they need it.