Domestic Abuse: Children

(asked on 11th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) Ministers and (b) officials of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the provision of specialist support services for children affected by domestic abuse.


Answered by
Victoria Atkins Portrait
Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This question was answered on 16th March 2020

The Domestic Abuse Bill, as introduced on 3 March, includes a new statutory duty on tier one local authorities in England to provide support to victims of domestic abuse, and their children, within safe accommodation.

We are working with our colleagues across Government, including HM Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure that the resources needed to implement the provisions in the Bill are prioritised as part of the next spending review period from 2021/22.

In the Government’s further response to the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill (CP 214), also published on 3 March, we indicated that the Domestic Abuse Commissioner has agreed to undertake an in-depth exploration of the current community-based support landscape to help us better understand the existing routes by which these services are commissioned and funded. The Government will then work with the Commissioner to understand the needs identified and develop options on how best to address them.

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