Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure domestic violence victims have access to support with the rising costs of living.

Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for this Government. A key part of this is making sure victims and survivors get the support they need.

The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, which we published in March, invests over £230 million, including over £140 million specifically for supporting victims and survivors.

In the Plan, my department has also doubled funding for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline. And alongside the Ministry of Justice, a commitment was made to provide multi-year funding for support services. This will offer more stability and consistency for service users, as services will not be dependent on yearly grants. This will help ensure high-quality support is available throughout any increases in the cost of living.

And through the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, economic abuse is now recognised in law as being part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse. Between 2018-2022, the Government has provided £567,000 to Surviving Economic Abuse, an organisation that raises awareness of economic abuse and which supports victims and survivors of this pernicious form of domestic abuse.