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<p>This Government has not introduced limits on the length of stay nor quotas around
who can access refuges. Decisions on how long victims should stay will be made by
local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>I can inform the House that today the Government
has launched a new £10 million fund to strengthen refuge provision which will help
ensure a resilient national network. The funding bidding conditions, as well as new
statutory guidance make it clear that local authorities should provide support for
those who need it, including victims of abuse from other areas.</p><p> </p><p>Local
authorities should similarly not apply arbitrary limits for time spent in refuge accommodation.
The new statutory guidance also advises authorities to work with the service provider
to consider how long a victim needs to stay before the provision of other accommodation
with floating support may be more appropriate</p><p> </p><p>There is a range of support
for victims of domestic abuse. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but Sanctuary
Schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others,
while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support
schemes as necessary.</p><p> </p><p>This new funding is in addition to the £6.5 billion
provided by this Government to help vulnerable people through housing related support.
A proportion of this money will be used by local authorities to commission refuge
services. In addition we have made over £500 million available since 2010 to local
authorities and the voluntary sector to prevent and tackle homelessness and rough
sleeping. This funding will also help the most vulnerable in society, including victims
of domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>We also fund UKRefugesOnline a UK wide database of
domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic
violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence
to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country
so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>This
Government has ring-fenced nearly £40 million of funding for specialist local domestic
and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund
54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic
violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare's Law and domestic violence
protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling
behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions
of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure
lessons are learned from individual tragedies.</p><p> </p><p>Copies of the associated
documents are attached to this answer.</p><p> </p>
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