Domestic Abuse Housing Strategy

The Domestic Abuse Act received Royal Assent on the 29th April 2021. The government states that the Act will:

• Raise awareness and understanding about the devastating impact of domestic abuse on victims and their families
• Further improve the effectiveness of the justice system in providing protection for victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice
• Strengthen the support for victims of abuse by statutory agencies.

As part of the Act, a statutory duty has been placed on local authorities relating to the provision of support to victims and their children within safe accommodation. This includes a duty on tier two local authorities (district and London borough councils) to cooperate with tier one authorities (county councils, metropolitan and unitary authorities, and the Greater London Authority) to appoint a Local Partnership Board, assess the need for accommodation-based domestic abuse support in their area for all victims and their children, and develop and publish a strategy whilst reporting back to central government.

The Government’s Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan 2022 sets out how various aspects of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 will be delivered. This includes outlining how there will be more support for victims and survivors, and sets out a multi-year funding package to deliver community-based support services. It also sets out how the duty for accommodation-based support will be delivered, and a commitment to review whether the current statutory leave provision for employees does enough to support victims and survivors.

The Regulator of Social Housing places a requirement on the Council, as a social housing landlord, to comply with the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, by ensuring that:

• There is a policy for how cases of domestic abuse are responded to.
• There is co-operation with appropriate local authority departments (tier one) to support the local authority in meeting its duty to develop a strategy and commission services for victims of domestic abuse with their children within safe accommodation.

The Strategy and its delivery is intended to be compatible with, but not limited to, other key legislation, which includes:

• Housing Act 1996
• Homelessness Act 2002
• Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
• Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Children Act 1989
• Children Act 2004
• Adoption & Children Act 2002
• Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
• Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
• Care Act 2014
• Serious Crime Act 2015
• Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
• Equality Act 2010
• Data Protection Act 2018
• Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 

Other key statutory guidance includes:

• Domestic Abuse: Statutory Guidance Framework
• The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme or ‘Clare’s Law’
• Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities
• Improving Access to Social Housing for Victims of Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance
• Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2021