Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how much and (b) what proportion of the funding allocated to domestic violence services is specifically allocated to support children living in refuges.

Karen Bradley

The previous Government provided £40 million of dedicated funding for domestic and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015 equating to £10 million per year. This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refuges, and a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refuges. We do not hold figures for the amount of funding which is spent on supporting children in refuges. It is for local areas to make decisions on the provision of safe accommodation, including refuges, and the support for victims of domestic abuse and their families. On 8 March, as part of our new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, we announced £80 million of dedicated funding from 2016 to 2020 which includes support for refuges and other accommodation-based services, helping local areas ensure that victims of domestic violence and their children have the support they need.