Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43777 on Domestic Abuse: Refuge, what proportion of the total number of refuges had bedspaces for men.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse, including male victims.
Local authorities, under their statutory duties under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, are required to assess the need for and provide support for all victims of domestic abuse and their children while in safe accommodation, including male victims. It is for local authorities to commission services based on local need.
The Department collects data on the number of refuge bedspaces and the number of individuals, including male victims, that receive support in safe accommodation. This data is published annually: the most recent data can be found here. This data does not break down bedspace provision by gender-specific accommodation.
According to Women's Aid 2025 Annual Audit report, there were 50 refuges in England with bedspaces for men in May 2024, an increase of 11 from the previous year.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43777, what proportion of the total number of bedspaces were available for men.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse, including male victims.
Local authorities, under their statutory duties under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, are required to assess the need for and provide support for all victims of domestic abuse and their children while in safe accommodation, including male victims. It is for local authorities to commission services based on local need.
The Department collects data on the number of refuge bedspaces and the number of individuals, including male victims, that receive support in safe accommodation. This data is published annually: the most recent data can be found here. This data does not break down bedspace provision by gender-specific accommodation.
According to Women's Aid 2025 Annual Audit report, there were 50 refuges in England with bedspaces for men in May 2024, an increase of 11 from the previous year.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of domestic abuse victims were (a) men and (b) boys in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales year ending September 2024 showed that 3% of men aged 16 and over were victims of domestic abuse between September 2023 and September 2024 (compared to 6.6% of women).
The Government funds services that provide essential support to male victims, including support in accessing safe accommodation. These include Respect, Galop, SignHealth and Hourglass.
According to Women's Aid 2025 Annual Audit report, there were 50 refuges in England with bedspaces for men in May 2024, an increase of 11 from the previous year.
Since 2021, Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act has required local authorities in England to ensure support is available to all victims of domestic abuse in safe accommodation such as refuges.
Local authority data shows that in 2023/24 there were 63,950 individuals supported in safe accommodation, of which 3% (1,830) were men.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of refuge spaces for victims of domestic abuse are committed to supporting male survivors.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales year ending September 2024 showed that 3% of men aged 16 and over were victims of domestic abuse between September 2023 and September 2024 (compared to 6.6% of women).
The Government funds services that provide essential support to male victims, including support in accessing safe accommodation. These include Respect, Galop, SignHealth and Hourglass.
According to Women's Aid 2025 Annual Audit report, there were 50 refuges in England with bedspaces for men in May 2024, an increase of 11 from the previous year.
Since 2021, Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act has required local authorities in England to ensure support is available to all victims of domestic abuse in safe accommodation such as refuges.
Local authority data shows that in 2023/24 there were 63,950 individuals supported in safe accommodation, of which 3% (1,830) were men.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has provided funding to children's therapists to support families residing in women's refuges.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and supporting victims of domestic abuse, including children.
Since 2021, local authorities in England have had a duty under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure victims and their children have access to support in safe accommodation, including women’s refuges. In delivering this duty, local authorities should provide support to children, in line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which makes it clear that affected children and young people are victims of domestic abuse in their own right.
For 2025/26, £160 million has been allocated to local authorities to deliver this duty, a £30 million uplift from the previous year. This funding is for crucial support within safe accommodation, including therapeutic support for children. To deliver this duty in 2025/26, Hertfordshire County Council has been allocated £2,615,252 and St Albans District Council has been allocated £37,869 for relevant administrative costs.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the affordability of public transport for (a) women and (b) children residing in women's refuges.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Delivering safe and affordable public transport are key considerations for the Government and our ambitious reforms of the bus system and railway will ensure services better meet the needs of communities.
The Department supports the Rail Delivery Group funded Rail to Refuge scheme which provides those fleeing domestic abuse (and any children who may be required to travel with them) free rail travel to a refuge. This support is crucial in providing essential access to transport for those in need.
We are also investing over £150 million to deliver a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025 to help millions of people. We will continue to explore more targeted options that deliver value for money to the taxpayer, to ensure affordable bus travel is available for the groups who need it the most.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what target she has set for the total number of dispersal accommodation centres available to victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and supporting victims of domestic abuse.
Since 2021, local authorities in England have a duty to ensure domestic abuse victims and their children who need to flee their homes have access to support within safe accommodation when they need it. MHCLG has defined in regulations the types of safe accommodation that support to victims can be delivered in, including dispersed accommodation.
MHCLG has allocated £160 million to local authorities in 2025/26 to help them deliver their duty, a £30 million uplift from the previous year.
This revenue funding is for local authorities to fund provision of lifesaving support for victims and their children within safe accommodation, including dispersed accommodation. It is for local authorities to determine how best to allocate the funding MHCLG has provided to meet local needs, in line with a local needs assessment and strategy.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for accommodation for (a) victims of domestic violence and (b) their families in (i) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (ii) Kidsgrove.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities, in areas such as Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, are responsible for designing and managing their own housing allocations policies to meet local need. As part of this, they have the freedom to manage their own waiting lists but must give priority to people who are homeless or who need to move for medical or welfare reasons. This includes victims and their families who have escaped abuse. Allocations guidance also encourages local authorities to give additional preference to people who are homeless and require urgent rehousing as a result of domestic abuse.
Further to my answer to Question UIN 2150 on 9 September 2024, the department will bring forward changes to social housing allocations regulations to exempt all victims of domestic abuse from local connection and residency tests to improve their access to social rented housing.
Furthermore, the government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, and I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.
By law, local authorities in England are also required to ensure victims of domestic abuse and their children can access the support they need within safe accommodation if they have to flee their homes. This includes refuges, sanctuary schemes, and dispersed accommodation. The Government will be providing £160 million in funding to local authorities to support them to fulfil their duties in 2025/26.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help support survivors of domestic abuse in Birmingham.
Answered by Laura Farris
The government has taken a number of measures to support victims of domestic abuse across England and Wales. As a result of the of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan (2022) the government will invest up to £140 million in supporting victims.
Funding which may support victims in Birmingham from this plan includes, but is not limited to:
Ringfenced funding the Ministry of Justice provided to PCCs. In 2023/2024 MoJ provided £38 million for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and £21 million for community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help protect victims of domestic abuse in Newport West.
Answered by Laura Farris
Victims of domestic abuse in Wales, including Newport West, have access to a range of support and protections as a result of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan (2022).
The Plan invests over £230 million of cross-Government funding into tackling this crime. This includes up to £140 million for supporting victims, and over £81 million for tackling perpetrators and to support policing. Funding which may support victims in Newport West from this plan includes, but is not limited to:
From 31st January 2024, victims can benefit from direct payments to victims flee abuse or build a sustainable future due to an additional new £2 million investment into the Flexible Fund.
This funding is alongside measures to protect victims and pursue perpetrators, such as adding violence against women crime types – including domestic abuse – to the revised Strategic Policing Requirement, elevating it to a national threat for police forces to respond to accordingly.