Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to help prevent victims of financial abuse being barred from bidding on social housing when in temporary accommodation because of debt accrued by their abuser.

The government is committed to ensuring that those who need to escape from domestic abuse are given as much support and assistance as possible so that they are able to re-build their lives away from abuse and harm.

On 24 September, the Prime Minister announced an ambition to better support victims of domestic abuse to access housing. Regulations, which came into force on 10 July, mean that victims of domestic abuse moving as a result of that abuse will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing.

Local authorities are able to use local flexibles to take account of individual as circumstances such as on debt and statutory guidance on social housing allocations makes clear that local authorities are expected to take proper account of special circumstances by making provision for appropriate exceptions. We keep our statutory guidance under review.