Victims of domestic abuse and their children who risk being homeless must be prioritised for accommodation by councils under new measures in the Domestic Abuse Act which came into forced on 5th July, 2021.
The new duty on councils is designed to protect victims of domestic violence who may be forced to stay with their abusers if they are unable to find a home of their own.
Previously, victims had to prove they were ‘vulnerable’ as a result of domestic abuse before being prioritised for housing. Under the new law, domestic abuse is now a standalone reason to qualify as a person needing housing support.
In the press release announcing the measure, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Eddie Hughes MP said:
“Domestic abuse is a heinous crime and it is a tragedy that some victims remain with their abusers for fear of not having a roof over their head.
[The] change will mean all councils must find accommodation for victims who are homeless as a result of domestic abuse – ensuring they have a safe space to rebuild their lives.”
Councils are now under a legal duty to ensure that accommodation is provided to victims of domestic abuse.
You can follow the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on Twitter @mhclg
Researching Reform 
Was easier and less costly to take my grandchildren off my vulnerable daughter instead of helping her.
She was going through a violent relationship too.
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Fine if the abuse is violent and causes injuries but far too many babies and young children are taken because the parents have noisy shouting episodes.Women are usually weaker physically but their mouths are usually just as active if not more so than their male partners! Young children quarrel amongst themselves pretty noisily so they are not too “emotionally harmed” when their parents do the same and certainly they should not be removed from a family simply because parents do not get on and are noisy about it .
Alas the billion£ fostering and adoption industry feeds on such cases much to the triumphant joy of social workers and the ever richer directors of these wickedly profitable companies !
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Sadly this area of strife and homelessness is certainly to be a driver for care orders so it may well stop some of that .. I wonder if anyone has done data capture on this and will now do some more to capture what happens ? ..If they do then certainly it’s a backward critique on poor practices towards what happened previously ..
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