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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the suitability of local commissioning for specialist domestic violence refuges.

Decisions on the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic abuse are for local authorities; we expect local authorities to commission services based on the needs of their communities, taking account of locally available data sources.

The dynamics of domestic abuse mean that accommodation can play an important role in the resolution of interpersonal abuse and conflict. This is why the homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and for vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.

There is a range of support for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.

This Government has invested £6.5 billion to help vulnerable people through housing related support. This forms a key element of refuge funding through local authority commissioned services. We also fund UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.

This Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare's Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.

We are keeping this matter under review, and are keen to support best practice and greater joint working.