Women’s Aid responds to the chancellor’s autumn statement

Today, chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his autumn statement, setting out the government’s financial plans.

Responding to this, Isabelle Younane, head of external affairs at Women’s Aid said:

“The rising cost of living is having an unprecedented impact on women and children experiencing domestic abuse and on the services that support them, and urgent action is required. We welcome the chancellor’s commitment to increase benefits in line with inflation, and extend support on energy bills beyond April 2023, as Women’s Aid has been calling for since the cost of living crisis began.  We echo calls from the sector to implement these benefits immediately.

“We continue to call for an Emergency Support Fund to support survivors of domestic abuse through this crisis, in particular to protect migrant women fleeing domestic abuse. Further social security support is needed: survivors must be exempted from the benefit cap, which is a huge barrier to women fleeing abuse, and we urge government to abolish the No Recourse to Public Funds condition for survivors of domestic abuse.

“With the winter months approaching, there can be no further delay. Without urgent action from the government, frontline services risk going under, and many women and children will be forced to stay with their abuser, even when their lives are at risk.”