PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(3 December 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much base funding she plans to provide for (a) domestic abuse and sexual violence and (b) drugs and alcohol services in Torbay constituency.

Asked by:
Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat)

In 2024/25, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) allocated Torbay, as a Tier One authority, £321,538 to commission support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation locally.

On 28 November, the Government announced a £30 million increase to the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant, bringing the total investment to £160 million in 2025-26. This funding will enable all local authorities in England to continue investing in essential support within frontline safe accommodation services, ensuring victims of domestic abuse can access the support they need. Individual allocations to local authorities will be published shortly.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides ringfenced funding to Police and Crime Commissioners for community-based support to victims of crime, including victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly received £3,752,000 for 2024-25.

Despite the challenging financial environment, MoJ ministers have decided to protect victims spending in the department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for sexual violence and domestic abuse support next year. This means that for 2025-26, the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) grant will be maintained at its current level (£21 million for 25-26). Recipients of the RASASF in Devon and Cornwall received a combined total of £782,500 for 2024-25.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is continuing to invest in improvements to local drug and alcohol treatment services. In addition to the Public Health Grant, DHSC allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024-25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from DHSC, MHCLG and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. As part of this, in 2024/25 Torbay received £798,783 through the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant and £40,085 through the Inpatient Detoxification Grant. Now that the autumn budget has concluded, DHSC is working to announce future funding allocations for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems.

Funding from April 2026 will be a matter for Phase Two of the Spending Review.

Answered by:
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1 January 1970