Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what joint initiatives his Department has with the Department for Education on supporting a child whose parent enters a women's refuge.

The Government recognises the life changing impact domestic abuse can have on the lives of children. We will introduce a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill to protect and support victims, recognise the life-long impact domestic abuse has on children and make sure agencies effectively respond to domestic abuse.

The Government is determined to tackle violence against women and girls and the Home Secretary chairs an Inter-Ministerial Group on this issue on which both the Department for Education and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are represented.

Through our 2015 £3.5 million fund and our 2016/18 £20 million fund for domestic abuse services, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government have funded projects to improve support for children who have experienced domestic abuse.

The Department for Education has invested around £900,000 from December 2016 to March 2018 in voluntary sector projects to address domestic abuse and its impact on children.

The Government has also invested £920 million in the Troubled Families Programme, to support up to 400,000 families with multiple high-cost problems, including domestic abuse, by 2020.