Most Women Who Flee Domestic Violence Have Nowhere To Go

Domestic violence is a major cause of homelessness. Government figures show that in the year to June 2019, almost 24,000 people were made homeless in England directly because of domestic abuse. For those fleeing, it is increasingly difficult to find a space in a refuge, which offers temporary accommodation and intensive support. Councils cut funding for domestic violence refuges by almost a quarter between 2010 and 2017, and last year, Women’s Aid found that 64% of all referrals to refuges were declined. According to latest government figures, just 2% of households made homeless because of domestic abuse between April and December 2018 were offered social housing. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/05/vast-majority-women-domestic-violence-nowhere-to-go

MHCLG Has No Central Record Of Women’s Refuges In England

MHCLG does not hold centrally the number of women’s refuges operating in England in each year since 2010. But, responding to a written Commons question,  MHCLG minister Luke Hall said the Ministry was currently analysing the responses to the consultation on support within safe accommodation and would be publishing a response ”in due course”. Labour’s Emma Reynolds had asked what estimate MHCLG has made of the number of women’s refuges operating in England in each year since 2010. Hall confirmed that the Department does not hold that number centrally. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/mhclg-has-no-central-record-of-womens-refuges-in-england/

May Fails To Guarantee Refuges Will Not Close Amid Funding Overhaul

Theresa May has failed to rule out the closure of some women’s refuges amid warnings from campaigners that a major funding shakeup could threaten the future of shelters for women fleeing violent partners. In an interview on International Women’s Day, the Prime Minister was repeatedly pressed to guarantee the future of refuges after Government plans for an overhaul of supported housing funding that includes vital shelters. Domestic violence campaigners claim around a third of refuges could close if the plans go ahead, which would take short term supported housing outside of the welfare system and hand funds to local councils. Read more on the Independent website.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-fails-womens-refuges-will-not-close-funding-overhaul-a8246421.html

Supported Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government plans to take to support providers of supported housing affected by planned reductions in social housing rents.

Gavin Barwell: The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance cap until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. We will apply the rent reduction to supported housing, with the exception of domestic violence refuges, with rents in these properties decreasing by 1% a year for 3 years, up to and including 2019/20.

Women's Refuges To Be Exempt From Benefits Cap

Safe houses for women and children escaping domestic violence are to be exempted from the Government's planned welfare cuts, Theresa May has said. The Prime Minister came under pressure from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to protect funding for women's refuges in the UK, amid fears that two-thirds would close when the changes come into force. Mr Corbyn warned that such a move would be "devastating" for the "very vulnerable" women in the refuges and place them in danger. Mrs May confirmed the Government is working to exempt refuges from the cap. Read more on the Care Appointments website.

Welfare Cap Would Decimate Women’s Refuges

More than two-thirds of refuges for victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales will close unless these lifeline services are made exempt from a new government welfare spending cap. Actress and Women’s Aid patron Julie Walters made the claim and highlighted how refuges save lives as the charity’s chief executive pleaded with ministers to reconsider the proposal. Women’s Aid said a planned blanket cap on housing benefit will “decimate” refuges for women fleeing domestic abuse. Mrs Walters, said the Government must exempt refuges from the cuts “or live with the consequences of more women being killed”.  Read more on the Yorkshire Post website.

Domestic Violence Victims Are Disappearing From Homeless Statistics

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 14,780 households in the UK were accepted by local authorities as being statutorily homeless between January and March 2016, an increase of 9% on the previous year. This is defined as a household that is unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category (such as having dependent children). But the government’s statistics only tell half of the story. According to official figures, domestic violence looks like it is decreasing. Despite the stories about refuges closing down and local authorities that lack the funds to provide a safe place to those fleeing domestic violence, there has been a 13% fall in the number of people accepted as homeless because of that reason since 2009. This is despite the incidence of homelessness continuing to rise in that period. Download the figures from the ONS website.

High Court Orders Benefit Cap Judicial Review

The high court has ordered an urgent judicial review into the benefit cap and its impact on disabled people and their carers.  A claim by Iain Duncan Smith to have the case dismissed was unsuccessful and the High Court ruled that the case should proceed to a full hearing, no later than October 2015. The judgement comes soon after the Supreme Court ruled that the benefit cap breached children’s rights, meaning it could result in them not receiving “adequate food, clothing, warmth and housing, the basic necessities of life”. The Government recently admitted that the benefit cap could have “unintended consequences” for victims of domestic violence and amended the legislation to exempt those in women’s refuges. Read more on the Welfare Weekly website.

Household Benefit Cap and Universal Credit Housing Costs

The DWP has put proposals to the independent Social Security Advisory Committee and the local authority associations that would exclude benefit paid to cover housing costs in most supported housing from being:

·         Taken into account for the household benefit cap

·         Met via the Universal Credit rent element (which means calendar monthly payment in arrears, typically direct to the tenant’s bank account).

The DWP’s proposals would create four categories of accommodation that would be excluded:

·         Accommodation that meets the current “exempt accommodation” definition in Housing Benefit

·         A new, wider category of supported accommodation where the care, support or supervision does not have to be provided by the claimant’s landlord (the same groups of housing providers as for “exempt accommodation”).

·         Women’s refuges, including refuges of the same groups as for “exempt accommodation”, but also where the landlord is a local housing authority

·         Housing authority hostels where the tenant receives care support or supervision.

Read more on the NHF website.

Freud to Review Plans and 'Protect Providers'

The Department for Work and Pensions recently announced a review of plans that could have forced many homeless hostels to close.  Although welcoming this news, Homeless Link has been extremely concerned that the Government’s definition of which services would be exempt does not cover the majority of homelessness hostels.  Lord Freud – Minister for Welfare Reform – has written to us with a clear statement of intent to “protect providers from any unintended consequences”. He wrote that DWP wishes to: “protect refuges and hostels where care is provided by or arranged through a ‘managing agent’ rather than the landlord … I am determined that our reforms will maintain a viable supported housing sector.”  Read more on the Homeless Link website.

Universal Credit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State if he will make provision in the universal credit system to ensure that people in need of refuge support as a consequence of domestic violence have access to short-term housing support equivalent to that provided under the current housing benefit system.

Steve Webb: The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence and to providing better support for victims. It is our intention that universal credit will not cause a reduction in support levels for victims of domestic violence.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State how he plans that eligible service charges will be paid for under universal credit.

Steve Webb: Social rented sector landlords will be responsible for setting out clearly to the tenant those charges which are allowable. The claimant will report this as part of their claim.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State whether he has carried out analysis of future universal credit claimants to establish (a) how many households will be affected by the transition to universal credit, (b) how many such claimants are worried about the change to universal credit and (c) how many claimants will be capable of managing universal credit; and if he will place a copy of any such analysis in the Library.

Mr Hoban: The Department estimates that 12 million claims to current benefits and tax credits will be integrated into eight million household claims to universal credit.  We recognise that some claimants may need additional help to budget, particularly during the transitional period. We are working, with the advice sector to ensure that claimants are able to access appropriate budgeting support services to enable them to manage their money successfully.  For a minority of claimants however, an alternative payment arrangement may be required in addition to the above support. This includes making more frequent than monthly payments of universal credit to households, splitting payment between both joint claimants or paying housing costs directly to the landlord.

Threat to Refuges

In a letter to The Times, the charity Women’s Aid states its belief that draft universal credit regulations will make the provision of refuges for domestic violence victims more difficult and lead to them being closed.  The regulations only list three types of charge eligible to be covered by housing benefit. Housing sector figures have warned this could lead to around 13 different types of charges no longer being eligible for benefit. These include the maintenance of communal gardens, fire safety equipment, communal heating, lighting, lifts, door entry systems, children’s play areas, white goods, furniture and rubbish collection. Women’s Aid said: ‘These charges are necessary for the provision of refuge accommodation.’ The charity added that the measures are ‘likely to result in the closure of refuges that are financially unsustainable due to barriers to the receipt of rent.’  Women’s Aid called for women in refuges to be exempt from the £26,000 a year benefit cap, for payments of housing benefit to be made direct to the refuge and for housing benefit to pay the whole running costs of refuges. Read the full letter on the Women’s Aid website.

Government's Domestic Abuse Pilots 'A Waste of Time and Money'

Women will have the right to ask police about a partner's domestic violence history as part of a new scheme to be trialled in parts of England and Wales. The pilot scheme, also known as 'Clare's Law', will run from summer 2012, and will help victims or potential victims of domestic violence by disclosing information about previous violent offending by their partner. A domestic violence charity, however, denounced the scheme as "a waste of time and money". Refuge said the cost of implementing the 'Clare's Law' pilot schemes would outweigh its benefits. "We are at an absolute loss as to why the government is introducing the new disclosure scheme," said Sandra Horley, the charity's chief executive. "It seems to have ignored the concerns of the leading domestic violence organisations and those of Liberty. The new disclosure scheme simply isn't supported by any of us with the expertise to judge its chances of success." Read more on 24dash.