Written evidence submitted by Women’s Aid Federation of England [EXA 046]

Women’s Aid Federation of England (Women’s Aid) is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. We are a federation of nearly 170 organisations which provide just under 300 local lifesaving services to women and children across the country. Over the past 47 years, Women’s Aid has been at the forefront of shaping and coordinating responses to domestic abuse through practice, research and policy. We empower survivors by keeping their voices at the heart of our work, working with and for women and children by listening to them and responding to their needs.

Women’s Aid welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee for this important inquiry into exempt accommodation, which has a significant impact on the safety and welfare of survivors of domestic abuse. Whilst recognising that both terms can be used interchangeably, depending on the context, Women’s Aid uses the term ‘survivor’ in our wider work. Women’s Aid’s primary focus is women survivors, as domestic abuse is a gendered crime. Between the year ending March 2018 and March 2020, 76% of victims of domestic homicide were female and data supplied from 26 police forces showed the victim was female in 73% of domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police in the year ending March 2021.[1] It is deeply rooted in the societal inequality between women and men and it takes place ‘because she is a woman and happens disproportionately to women’[2].

Domestic abuse is by its very nature a housing issue, with perpetrators creating a context of fear and curtailed freedom usually within the home, a place where women and children should feel safe[3]. Although each survivor’s experience is different, housing is the primary barrier for women attempting to leave abuse[4] - 70% of women responding to a Women’s Aid survey said their housing situation and concerns about future housing, including fears of homelessness or lack of safe housing, prevented them from leaving an abuser[5]. The existing landscape for exempt accommodation is fraught with providers lacking the expertise, experience or quality assurance in supporting women and children fleeing domestic abuse [6]. As a consequence, Women’s Aid have witnessed a sharp increase in the delivery of highly unsafe schemes which severely undermine the safety of domestic abuse survivors.

Our evidence submission responds to the central questions of the inquiry, to set out how existing forms of profit-driven and unregulated temporary accommodation are not sufficient to meet the needs of women and children escaping domestic abuse, and therefore serve to undermine the ambitions of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021[7].

Quality of provision

The lack of quality and unsafe environments within the existing provision of exempt accommodation is being increasingly recognised as severely harmful to the most vulnerable members of society, particularly women and children fleeing domestic abuse[8]. Women’s Aid’s member services have reported serious concerns with both the accommodation and ‘support’ being provided to women and children in these schemes, and the long-term negative impact, which in some cases can result in women being murdered[9].

For women and children escaping domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), safe accommodation is a vital need. ‘Safety’ for survivors is not only about the physical safety from an abuser, but the emotional safety, space and support required for survivors to cope with traumatic experiences and start to rebuild their lives in safety and independence. Yet, in many cases, owing to the size and scale of the accommodation being established, exempt accommodation exposes survivors to further trauma and undermines their ability to transition into safe and independent lives. The reported 60 bed ‘refuge’ being provided in Sunderland City Centre, for example, is ill-equipped to provide survivors of domestic abuse with the nurturing and safe environment which is critical to their recovery from trauma and abuse[10]. Accommodation of this size does not meet the definition of a refuge, as set out by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for the statutory duty on tier one local authorities to provide safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse, which was introduced through the Domestic Abuse Act[11].

It is important to recognise that refuge services provide far more than a ‘roof’ – they provide holistic package of support, delivered by expert staff, to meet the full range of women and children’s support needs in a safe and supportive environment. It is well evidenced that these specialist services are best delivered by women’s organisations, and by experienced staff who have in-depth knowledge of gender-based violence. Services led ‘by and for’ Black and minoritised women, migrant women, Deaf and disabled women and LGBT+ survivors, are also essential for meeting the specific support needs of these marginalised groups.

In sharp contrast to specialist services, many exempt accommodation providers lack a basic understanding of domestic abuse and the needs of survivors, with accommodation often in locations which pose severe safety risks to survivors and other vulnerable people. One case study from Women’s Aid and Imkaan’s research into exempt accommodation found that a community interest company (CIC), Lotus Sanctuary, which is focused on ‘ending homelessness’, has recently been expanding business across the north. As part of their increase in service provision, Lotus Sanctuary have created a new 40 bedspace hostel for women with complex needs in Middlesbrough in an unsafe area next to two pubs and the train station. This area is known as a hot spot for anti-social behaviour and is particularly dangerous at night. In these circumstances, where the accommodation is not suitable for survivors, women may return to the perpetrator which puts them at further risk of harm.

In addition, there are also serious questions about the domestic abuse expertise of these providers, including reports of a lack of awareness of the safety planning and structures for domestic abuse, such as Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) and, in some cases, no support being offered at all.[12] Lotus Sanctuary also stated that the support they provide to survivors of domestic abuse housed in their accommodation in Kirklees, is limited to one hour per week, but that the women ‘can ring if they need anything’[13]. For accommodation to be safe, it must be delivered alongside wrap-around support and care services to those with additional support needs – including homeless people; people with mental health support needs; people with disabilities; and older people. Whereas refuge services’ core business it is to support women and children impacted by domestic abuse[14], the majority of unregulated providers employ a ‘business model’ that relies on claiming higher levels of Housing Benefit, and therefore have no incentive to move women on to affordable housing. There is also a pattern among providers to purchase accommodation in cheaper and therefore more deprived areas, which are often remote, and as a result, increase women’s isolation. The long-term impact of such provision is that survivors’ confidence and ability to recover is severely undermined, and there will be additional pressure on specialist services and statutory services[15].

Regulatory Oversight

Existing research on exempt accommodation demonstrates that the lack of regulatory clarity has contributed to dangerous interpretations of the regulations, and resulted in landlords or providers claiming excessive rents, whilst providing poor accommodation or ‘care, support or supervision’.[16] To achieve the ambition of the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021[17], it is critical that all services for survivors of domestic abuse, are delivered by expert staff and rooted in evidence-based training and recognised quality standards. Whereas Registered Providers are accountable to several regulatory bodies, there is currently no formal oversight mechanism for exempt accommodation. For instance, Registered Providers are monitored by the Homes and Communities Agency and the support delivered by providers are subject to the standards set by local commissioners, sector-led accreditation schemes or formal regulators such as the Care Quality Commission. In sharp contrast, the range of providers currently eligible to deliver exempt accommodation – including community interest companies (CICs), charities and voluntary organisations – are not monitored by any formal oversight mechanism.

The Government sought to address this through the publication of the National Statement of Expectations (NSE) for Supported Housing in November 2020. Women’s Aid welcomes DLUHC’s roll out of five pilots, aimed at ‘improving quality; enforcement; oversight; and value for money’ in short-term, non-commissioned exempt supported accommodation.[18] However, we feel that it was a missed opportunity that these pilots did not focus explicitly on domestic abuse in order to develop an evidence-based and survivor-led model for exempt accommodation. The NSE for Supported Housing’s ‘vision for accommodation standards, quality and value for money’[19] will not be achieved without establishing robust mechanisms which set out formal requirements for the provision of exempt accommodation. The NSE for Supported Housing therefore needs to be consolidated with stronger directives to local authorities to ensure that the ‘expectations’ for quality service provision are met by all providers of exempt accommodation. The Home Office’s commitment to revising the National Statement of Expectations for VAWG provides an opportunity to ensure there is a consistent approach to quality standards across the commissioning landscape for domestic abuse support. Women’s Aid therefore recommends that DLUHC:

• Issue a specific directive to local authorities to withhold enhanced housing benefit from providers of specified or exempt accommodation targeting women experiencing domestic abuse where:

• they are making profit, or there is evidence of a connection with profit making organisations;
• where survivors or local specialist services providers raise safety concerns;
• or where they have no experience of, or are unable to, evidence safeguarding or risk assessment in cases of domestic abuse.

• Strengthen both the National Statement of Expectations for Supported Housing and National Statement of Expectations for VAWG to enable local authorities to address unsafe and dangerous housing provision.
• Ensure that the findings from the exempt accommodation pilots in Birmingham, Bristol, Blackburn, Hull and Blackpool inform changes to the NSE on Supported Housing and NSE on VAWG, in consultation with specialist domestic abuse organisations.

It is important to recognise that the quality and regulation of Supported Housing provision is further undermined by the weak definitions underpinning The Housing Benefit and Universal Credit (Supported Housing) (Amendment) Regulations 2014.[20] The legislation introduced a new definition of ‘Specified Accommodation’ to ensure housing costs funding would not be negatively impacted by welfare reforms. This included ‘exempt’ accommodation alongside three other categories: Supported Housing where a third party (not the landlord) provides the care, support and supervision; local authority hostels; and domestic violence refuges. However, within this definition, there remains no clear definition of care, support or supervision, and no specification about how much care, support or supervision needs to be provided, other than it must be more than ‘minimal’.[21]

Women’s Aid welcomes the recommendation in the statutory guidance for the new statutory duty in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, that the delivery of support must meet agreed and recognised quality standards, and where they do not, action should be taken to ensure commissioned services align with these[22]. This statutory guidance also makes clear that other forms of domestic abuse emergency accommodation must be tied to domestic abuse support.[23] However, through Women’s Aid’s monitoring of the implementation of the statutory duty, our research suggests that there is broad variation across the country in how local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) interpret the new guidance. Therefore, without explicit directives prohibiting the use of statutory funding for exempt accommodation, many local areas will continue to fund unsafe and dangerous accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse. We therefore recommend that DLUHC:

• Revise the Regulations to specifically exclude providers that do not meet recognised quality standards; do not provide single sex, secure spaces; and do not deliver dedicated support to survivors of domestic abuse, from the definition ‘other forms of emergency accommodation’.

Funding

The current model for exempt accommodation provision is not financially viable due to the lack of clear and robust guidance on how it should be funded. This has led to a sharp increase in exempt accommodation providers establishing Supported Housing for ‘vulnerable women’ in England without expertise, experience or quality assurance processes for housing women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

Through consultation with our member services, it appears that providers are largely delivering this by claiming enhanced Housing Benefit for exempt accommodation, and in some cases private property companies are establishing CICs to do so – with the purpose of delivering financial return to investors, rather than supporting survivors.[24] Furthermore, because the ’business model’ of such providers relies on claiming enhanced Housing Benefit, there is no incentive to move women onto affordable housing.

During the pandemic, it also appears that emergency funding has been used by these providers to provide capital and support costs funding. For example, a faith-based organisation who primarily work to tackle poverty and have no clear evidence in providing domestic abuse services were awarded £113,000 from DLUHC’s Covid-19 emergency funding for safe accommodation for survivors [25]. We are clear that emergency funding for supporting survivors must go to specialist services and not those without vital expertise and knowledge, or those claiming enhanced Housing Benefit to run ’refuges’.[26] In order the address the diversion of funds away from specialist support for survivors of domestic abuse, Women’s Aid recommends DLUHC to:

• Guarantee that no further funding which is aimed at supporting survivors of domestic abuse or women experiencing homelessness is delivered to those without recognised expertise or the ability to provide quality, wrap-around holistic support.

January 2022