Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales 2 Marsham Street, London Sw1p 4JA Commissioner@Domesticabusecommissioner.Independent.Gov.Uk

Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales 2 Marsham Street, London SW1p 4JA [email protected]

Victims Commissioner for England and Wales 5th Floor, 7 Petty France London SW1H 9EX [email protected]

Sent by email

Dear Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Temporary accommodation options for victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse during Covid-19

We are writing to you to urgently follow up the letter we sent to Chief Executives of major hotel chains, to which you were copied, on 9th April. In this letter we called on hotel chains to provide victims and their families with a hotel room in a publicly undisclosed place, free of charge, to those fleeing domestic abuse where they have been unable to access refuge.

There has already been a positive response from hotel chains, as well as other providers of accommodation, such as universities, some of whom have been in touch directly with local police forces to offer their space. However, this is not completely without cost (despite significant discounts being offered by hotels) and so Southall Black Sisters with Compassion in Politics wrote again to you to ask Government to underwrite the cost of this option where necessary.

We recognise that there are many issues to work through, and it’s important to emphasise that refuges remain the best place for victims and their families to go when they need to flee their homes. We and the specialist domestic abuse sector stand ready to support hotels and MHCLG in ensuring that this option remains safe and that victims are still supported by the third sector throughout any stay in a hotel. We understand that the Welsh Government are already working with the hotel sector in Wales to support this initiate and encourage the UK Government to do the same. This is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. We are already seeing a significant reduction in the availability of refuge spaces, with Women’s Aid reporting that on the ‘Routes to Support’ refuge database there are around half the available bed spaces than there usually are at any one time. This is likely to reduce still further as we see more and more issues with ‘bed blocking’ whereby Local Authorities are unable to provide move-on accommodation when stay in a refuge is no longer required by the victim or their family. Government must act now to ensure that accommodation options are available as and when refuges become completely full. Equally, there are many victims whose immigration status means that they have No Recourse to Public Funds and so struggle to access refuge spaces even pre-Covid.

We would also like to specifically highlight the issue of move-on accommodation available during this period, as increasing provision of this will also be crucial in ensuring the continued availability of refuge spaces. We are hearing that some Local Authorities are simply not issuing any new tenancies during this period due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While we understand the reasoning behind this, this is simply not appropriate where someone requires a new property due to domestic abuse, and risks significantly silting up the flow of individuals in and out of refuge. Therefore, we ask you to work with Local Authorities and issue guidance that clearly stipulates that providing move-on accommodation for victims and survivors of domestic abuse during this time is a priority.

Finally, accommodation for perpetrators has become an acute concern, as it can disrupt police action to remove perpetrators from the family home. It is not right for a victim and their family to always be forced to flee their home and have their lives disrupted due to abuse, and ideally the perpetrator should be forced to leave. That’s why Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPO) issued by the police can be so important, in forcing the perpetrator to leave the premises and provide ‘breathing space’ for the victim and their family. However, we have already seen that Courts are reticent to grant these Orders for fear of making the perpetrator homeless during the lockdown, as they cannot go and stay with friends or family as they might previously have done. Therefore, it is vital that MHCLG consider further how offers of hotel rooms, university accommodation or other accommodation could be utilised to house perpetrators of domestic abuse (in separate accommodation to victims), so that these orders can still be issued. Again, this would reduce the pressures on refuges where victims have the option of remaining safely at home. We encourage MHCLG to actively work with hotel chains and other accommodation providers to ensure that access to housing is never a blockage to the police issuing a DVPO.

As ever, we are happy to work with you and your officials to support work to house victims and their families - or perpetrators - safely during this difficult period.

Yours

Nicole Jacobs

Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales

Dame Vera Baird QC

Victims Commissioner for England and Wales