Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to allocate the £20 million fund to services supporting victims of abuse in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

On Monday 12 May, we announced a £19.9m funding boost to support thousands more victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG). This funding will help victims access specialist services . This includes £6m for specialist helplines to support victims of VAWG across England and Wales, £2m for a Flexible Fund administered by Women’s Aid Federation England, which offers direct cash payments to victims fleeing abuse across England and Wales, and £2.4 million for the Supporting Migrant Victims Scheme, a national programme that supports migrant victims of abuse who are unable to access public funds. This comprehensive national package reflects our commitment to ensuring that all victims and survivors - regardless of their background, circumstances or postcode - can access the support they need.

Regarding investment into local services, on 28 November 2024 the Government announced a £30m funding increase to the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant, bringing the total investment to £160m in 2025-26. This will enable local authorities to invest in essential support in frontline safe accommodation services. Furthermore, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales also receive annual grant funding from the MOJ’s victim and witness budget to commission local support services for victims of all crime types. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers and to commission appropriate support to meet that need.