Charities and other organisations who work to combat domestic abuse have been awarded an additional £20m by the Chancellor in today’s Budget.
In his first Budget as Chancellor, Phillip Hammond announced that the government will provide £20m to “support organisations working to combat domestic violence and abuse, and to support victims” over the life of the parliament.
Hammond said that this would take the total funding for implementing the government’s ‘Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy’ to £100m over the life of the parliament.
In his budget speech, Hammond said: “I’m delighted to use the occasion of International Women’s Day, to announce that I will commit a further £20m of government funding to support the Campaign against Violence against Women and Girls”.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Women’s Aid, welcomed the Chancellor’s £20m funding to tackle domestic abuse.
“The extra £20m of funding announced today for services to support women and children who have lived through the fear and trauma of domestic violence and abuse is desperately needed – and warmly welcomed," said Neate. "It’s not a moment too soon, as Women’s Aid’s most recent national survey found that a third of domestic abuse services are running with no dedicated funding.”
Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, also welcomed the announcement. She said: “Refuge welcomes the news, revealed by Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of this afternoon’s budget, that £20m will be made available to address domestic violence and abuse.
“Theresa May has been a champion for victims of domestic violence for many years, first as Home Secretary and now as Prime Minister; on International Women’s Day, it is fantastic to see once again her commitment to tackling a horrendous crime that kills two women every single week.”
Another £12m for women’s charities from Tampon Tax
Hammond also said that he would be making another £12m worth of funds raised through the Tampon Tax to “women’s charities across the UK”.
The Budget sets out that “a range of women’s charities across the UK, including those that tackle violence against women and girls” will benefit from 2016-17 round of the Tampon Tax fund.
The government said a list of the charities which will receive money from the fund will be published before the end of March.
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