Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of support services for victims of domestic abuse and violence in Poplar and Limehouse constituency.

The Government continues to support victims of domestic abuse, including the provision of safe accommodation with support to ensure anyone fleeing from abuse has somewhere safe to go.

The Government pledged an unprecedented £76 million in May to help the most vulnerable in society during this challenging time. In addition, we announced a further £11 million will go towards sexual violence and domestic abuse support services to ensure they continue providing their vital services during the pandemic.

£125m new funding was also provided towards the duty in the Domestic Abuse Bill, currently before Parliament, for Tier One local authorities to assess the need for, and commission, support to victims and their children in domestic abuse safe accommodation in England.

At a local level, for 2019/20, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime have spent over £8m on their London Victim and Witness Service which includes specialist support for survivors of domestic abuse and provision of Independent Domestic Violence Advisors. Also, we have:

• Provided £16.6m to 75 local authority led projects for delivery of support to victims of domestic abuse, within safe accommodation, helping up to 43,000 survivors in 2020/21. This included £3.96 million for projects led by London local authorities, including £94,452 for Tower Hamlets;
• Launched a £10 million Emergency Support Fund for refuge charities, with all funding now allocated to over 160 organisations, providing almost 1900 bed spaces; and
• Announced £6 million Domestic Abuse Capacity Building Funding for councils to help them prepare for the new duty to provide support in safe accommodation. This included £50,000 for the Greater London Authority.