Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of effectiveness of the Support for Migrant Victims Pilot Scheme (Domestic Abuse) Grant.

We believe this question relates to statistics from 2021 to 2022, published in March 2023.

Following the Government’s 2020 review of support for migrant victims, in April 2021, we launched the Support for Migrant Victims (SMV) Scheme pilot. The 12-month pilot, run by Southall Black Sisters, provided wraparound support including accommodation, subsistence, counselling and legal advice to migrant victims of domestic abuse.

An independent evaluation was commissioned to review the delivery of the pilot scheme. Overall, it assessed that the scheme was successful in meeting the immediate needs of migrant victims of domestic abuse. Between April 2021 and March 2022, the scheme supported 425 victims.

As committed to in the Domestic Abuse Plan, we allocated up to £1.4 million in 2022-23 to continue to fund the Support for Migrant Victim Scheme while we considered lessons learned from the pilot. We have now extended the scheme until March 2025, ensuring we continue to support migrant victims of domestic abuse.