Funding safer futures
A government pathway for the quantity and quality of funding required to help women and children experiencing domestic abuse
Our analysis finds that the government spent an estimated £195 million on local domestic abuse support services in England in 2023-24, although we recognise that there are a number of limitations to this estimate resulting from the level of data publicly available. We estimate that current government investment falls £232 million short of the £427 million needed to properly fund local specialist women’s domestic abuse services and the separate, ring-fenced funding needed to ensure the sustainability of vital ‘by and for’ organisations. This figure, based on Women’s Aid research, comprises £189 million required for refuges and £238 million for community-based services in England.
We recommend that the next government deliver the minimum investment of £427 million per year by: continuing to deliver the approximately £195 million currently being spent within Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office; securing new investment from further government departments; and generating savings from ending current programmes which are not providing good value for money and crucially are not supporting key outcomes of safety and recovery for survivors.