The Government has made available £125 million to councils across England to help provide victims of domestic abuse and their children access to safe accommodation and essential life-saving services, ensuring they have the support they need to recover and rebuild their lives. Warrington Borough Council has been allocated £400,000 as part of the fund.
This funding will help ensure victims and their children can access vital support such as therapy and advocacy in safe accommodation, placing a new duty on councils as a key part of our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, and is part of a wider package of support we have put in place for victims of rape and domestic abuse.
In taking another big step towards helping break the cycle of domestic abuse and protecting some of the most vulnerable in our society, we are transforming our response to victims and will help them move forward with their lives.
Andy Carter MP said:
Domestic abuse is a heinous crime, one which leaves a significant impact not only on its victims but also their loved ones. Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in domestic abuse since the start of the pandemic and across Cheshire, rates are up 7% on 2019 levels.
With these measures we want to protect and empower victims and survivors in rebuilding their lives, getting them into suitable accommodation and providing counselling services as long as people need them.
The duty will come into effect later this year, subject to the Domestic Abuse Bill becoming law. This is part of a wider package of support for victims of rape and domestic abuse, with a £40 million funding boost for victim support services announced last week.
Last month the government launched the ‘Ask for ANI’ codeword scheme, which provides victims of domestic abuse access to immediate help from the police or other support services from their local pharmacy. The scheme is available nationwide in all Boots pharmacies – of which there are approximately 2,300 stores – and almost 300 independent pharmacies.
