Help finally announced for domestic abuse survivors and rough sleepers

A raft of measures “to support the most vulnerable in society” including domestic violence survivors and rough sleepers have been announced by the housing secretary.

Robert Jenrick announced a £76m package to support more safe spaces and accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse and their children, to boost the recruitment of counsellors for victims of sexual violence, and to help charities offer helplines.

Addressing survivors of domestic violence directly, Jenrick said: “You are not alone, you do not have to stay at home, you can and should leave the home if you’re in danger.”

The move was welcomed by groups supporting domestic violence survivors:

After weeks of waiting for emergency funding, we are relieved that the government has confirmed this cash injection for life-saving local services protecting women & children during the pandemic…. [1/4[ https://t.co/QatnopwSfc

— Women's Aid (@womensaid) May 2, 2020

https://twitter.com/nicolejacobsST/status/1256614439798935553

This also follows news that women seeking safety can now travel free on trains:

Any woman who needs to travel to find refuge from domestic violence can do so for free on any uk train as of yesterday. The cost of the ticket will be covered by the relevant rail operator. Email [email protected].
Feel free to spread the word.

— Bryan Simpson (@BrySim88) April 30, 2020

Additionally, more than 5,400 rough sleepers known to councils have been offered safe accommodation in the past month, Jenrick said, as he announced Louise Casey will lead a new taskforce to tackle the issue.

Among the measures to support domestic violence survivors, Jenrick also said they would get “priority need” status for access to local housing.

Jenrick added: “As a father of three girls, I cannot even imagine women and young children being put in this situation.

“But they are.

“We must be alive to the reality of what is happening in all too many homes across the country.

“I want us to defend the rights of those women and those children wherever we can, and that is what we’re going to do.”

He said the Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill, which had its second reading in Parliament last week, would create “the first ever legal definition of domestic abuse”.

He said that through the Bill, the government would “be ensuring that the victims of domestic violence get the priority need status that they need to access to local housing services much more easily”.

The number of people who have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on 1 May rose to 28,131, up by 621.

The death toll has edged closer to that of Italy, which at 28,236 is the highest in Europe, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

And the number of daily tests both concluded and sent out in the last 24 hours dropped to 105,937.

It comes as questions were raised over how tests are being counted after health secretary Matt Hancock said on 1 May he had met his target for 100,000 Covid-19 tests per day.

Earlier, The Times reported that commuters could be asked to take their temperature before travelling, and those with an elevated reading – a symptom of Covid-19 – would be expected to stay at home.

A senior government source confirmed the plans are being looked at, but stressed they are a “long way” from being policy.