Cross-party support for all survivors of domestic abuse to have access to a safe and permanent home

Leah Miller, Public Affairs Officer

04.10.2019

The Domestic Abuse Bill returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday for its Second Reading in what was one of the most moving and powerful debates Parliament has seen.

Following a week of political upheaval, the debate was a welcome reminder of what parliamentarians can achieve when there is a shared interest in delivering positive change. With the Bill’s future having been brought into question due to the proroguing of Parliament earlier this month, the return of the landmark legislation was welcomed by both sides of the House.

The legislation is being hailed as a once in a generation opportunity to tackle domestic abuse and support and protect survivors. It would introduce a statutory definition of domestic abuse that includes economic abuse, place a duty on local authorities to replace lifetime tenancies for victims of domestic abuse and deliver an accompanying funding package for a ‘whole housing’ approach to develop the practice and knowledge of housing professionals.

However, without including provision to ensure everyone fleeing domestic abuse has access to a safe and permanent home, the Bill will fall short of truly putting survivors first.

The debate will rightly be remembered for the powerful interventions from MPs speaking on behalf of constituents who have experienced domestic abuse and particularly compelling and brave testimonies from Members who have personal experience of abuse. The stories serve as a reminder that domestic abuse can affect anyone.

I was also pleased to see MPs from across the House highlight the inextricable link between housing and domestic abuse and the importance of action to prevent homelessness among this group. This included support for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness’ call for automatic priority need for housing to be extended to all survivors of domestic abuse.

Currently, survivors are required to prove their vulnerability and the extent of the abuse they have experienced to be eligible to access settled housing from their council. Many MPs raised the absurdity of requiring people who are facing homelessness due to fleeing domestic abuse to prove their vulnerability and the trauma this can bring. Speaking on the need for automatic priority need, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse put it perfectly when she said: “we must not retraumatise survivors”, concluding “we can do better”. Following her in the Chamber, Conservative MP Paul Scully echoed this stating “there is nothing worse for people than having to rehash their story time and again”.

Housing is a key barrier to people leaving an abusive situation and all too often people who do flee are left facing homelessness. Last year 23,430 families and individuals who were homeless or on the brink of homelessness had experienced, or were at risk of, domestic abuse. One in five of Crisis’ clients who are women report that domestic abuse was the direct cause of their homelessness.

Research by the APPG for Ending Homelessness found that nearly 2,000 households fleeing domestic abuse in England each year are not being provided help to access a safe home because they are not considered in ‘priority need’ for housing. This is despite the obvious dangers of homelessness or returning to an abuser.

Survivors of domestic abuse in Wales already have a priority need for accommodation, whilst in Scotland priority need has been abolished altogether, meaning everyone who is homeless has a right to rehousing. The Domestic Abuse Bill must be used as an opportunity to ensure survivors in England are given these same rights and protections.

MPs also raised the Government’s recent commitment to place a statutory duty on some local authorities to assess and meet the need for emergency accommodation-based support services for people fleeing domestic abuse. While this is a significant step forward in helping ensure people fleeing domestic abuse do not end up sleeping rough, it falls short of providing them with the safety and security of a permanent home.

With no legal duty to find settled housing for these individuals they risk getting stuck in temporary accommodation, unable to rebuild their lives. Refuges have told us that this also often means survivors who no longer require the support of a refuge are taking up vital spaces needed by others. This was pointed out by Conservative MP Tim Loughton who, highlighting the need for priority need to settled housing, noted that “in some cases women are staying in hostels for several years, which is again a false economy, when they could be in independent housing, living safely with their children”.

It was heartening to hear Robert Buckland, in response to a question from Labour MP Helen Hayes on priority need, promise that the Government will look at this issue in more detail at Committee Stage and that they are keen to work with MPs across the House to make the Bill as good as possible. I hope that when the Government does come to look at housing and funding for refuges, it also recognises the importance of ensuring survivors having a legal right to rehousing.

Without this, the Domestic Abuse Bill will fall short of tackling the link between homelessness and domestic abuse and achieving the Government’s key aims of preventing domestic abuse and supporting survivors.