Budgets of women’s refuges slashed by almost a quarter in seven years

Women’s refuges across England have had their budgets cut by nearly a quarter in the last seven years, according to new figures.

Budgets have been slashed despite the number of domestic violence cases reported to police increasing by a third in the same period.

An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) found three-quarters of councils had reduced the amount spent on women’s refuges since 2010.

Funding for refuges across England has dropped from £31.2 million in 2010 and 2011, or £36.7m when adjusted for inflation, to just £23.9m in 2016 and 2017.

Information obtained from 84 local authorities across England revealed more than 1,000 vulnerable women and children were turned away in the last six months.

One woman from the West Midlands was told that the nearest free space in a refuge was in Orkney.

Kensington and Chelsea Council was among those singled out for criticism when it emerged it had cut spending on refuges by 45 per cent since 2010. A month after the Grenfell Tower disaster claimed 80 lives, the ceiling of a refuge in the borough collapsed.

One refuge manager warned “women and children are going to die as a result”, while another said they were providing just a “bare bones service”.

Two women a week in England and Wales are killed by their partners or former partners on average.

Many of the 40 refuge managers surveyed said they were often forced to turn away women with physical disabilities, mental health problems or because they had too many children with them. Many services, such as child support workers and substance abuse workers, have had to be cut.

The government last year announced a £20 million pot to fund domestic violence projects, but 50 local authorities received nothing.