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<p>Legislation provides that a person who is pregnant, has dependent children, or
is vulnerable as a result of having to leave accommodation due to domestic abuse already
has priority need for accommodation.</p><p>The Homelessness Reduction Act which came
into force last April goes further, representing the most ambitious reform to homelessness
legislation in decades, requiring local authorities to carry out assessments of the
housing and support needs of people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness
and take reasonable steps to try and prevent or relieve their homelessness. Local
authorities must ensure they tailor the advice to meet the needs of particularly vulnerable
groups including those who are victims of domestic abuse.</p><p>The government is
committed to ensuring that the Homelessness Reduction Act is working for all including
ensuring that those fleeing domestic abuse get the support they need. These duties
apply irrespective of priority need or intentional homelessness, and the steps the
local authority and the applicant are to take must be set out in a personalised housing
plan.</p><p>Through the Act, the government is ensuring that the new prevention and
relief duties are providing help to all eligible people, including single people who
do not have priority need. Although our data is still experimental the indications
are this is happening. During the first year for which we have published data 263,720
households have had a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness accepted, and only 9,440
households have been issued with a 'non priority homeless' decision.</p><p>In addition
the government has invested £55.5 million in accommodation-based services to support
victims of domestic abuse, including refuges since 2014. We are also continuing to
provide funding through the Rough Sleeping Initiative to ensure that provision is
in place for women who sleep rough.</p>
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