Mayor launches innovative new scheme to deliver safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse across London
Mayor launches innovative new scheme to deliver safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse across London
- Mayor of London launches new pan-London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Homes Programme (DASAHP) to help more people in the capital escape domestic abuse
- In a country-leading move, Sadiq is taking the innovative step of combining his Affordable Homes Programme funding and revenue funding, totalling nearly £10m, to deliver new and improved affordable accommodation, alongside specialist support for survivors of domestic abuse
- Scheme aims to increase range of support available to underserved groups and those with complex needs
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced the launch of an innovative new pilot scheme aimed at helping more survivors of domestic abuse in the capital to rebuild their lives.
Sadiq’s pan-London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Homes Programme (DASAHP) will deliver new and improved safe, affordable accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse, as well as better access to specialist support.
For the first time ever, the Mayor is combining £8.5m in capital funding from his Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 and £1.1m in revenue funding won from central Government, to refurbish and build new buildings that will provide both a safe place for survivors to live in and a space for supporting organisations and community projects to carry out their life-changing work.
Thousands of Londoners experience domestic abuse every year, and this programme will provide additional accommodation options for those who have nowhere else to stay and who need specialist support to rebuild their lives following abuse.
The Mayor is committed to improving the range of support available to survivors of domestic abuse in London and is doing all he can to minimise the barriers they typically face when seeking refuge from abusive situations. By combining capital and revenue funding in this way for the first time, Sadiq is ensuring that survivors can access the help and support they need all under one roof.
The programme will build on the Mayor’s work to increase the provision of accommodation and specialist support for underserved Londoners in particular. This includes domestic abuse survivors with disabilities, have large families, are from Black and minoritisied groups, identify as LGBTQI+, and are facing multiple disadvantages. As such, bids from organisations that work directly with survivors from these groups will be prioritised under this programme and will be welcomed from March.
This is just one part of the Mayor's wide-ranging strategy to increase safe accommodation for all survivors of domestic abuse, as set out in his Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy. Earlier this month, Sadiq announced that £15m of funding has also been awarded to support a range of organisations providing safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse and their families as part of his mission to tackle violence against women and girls in the capital. [1]
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m proud to launch this innovative new funding programme to increase support for those who have faced domestic abuse.
“Combining investment in new homes from my Affordable Homes Programme with funding for specialist support will deliver safe, affordable accommodation and proper support for thousands of survivors of domestic abuse, especially those from underserved communities, all under one roof.
“This flagship programme will not only transform the lives of survivors of domestic abuse, but will also support organisations and community projects in the capital to continue their life-saving work – helping to build a better, safer London for all.”
Nahar Choudhury, CEO of Solace Women’s Aid, said: “Over 70 per cent of the women Solace supports have a housing need and this new funding will allow more women to get the specialist support they need and ensure they have a place to rebuild their lives free from abuse.
“Safe accommodation is a lifeline for women and children across London, and having affordable housing to move on to after abuse is crucial. London’s housing shortage, and rising rental prices are making it harder for women to find suitable housing but our projects funded by the Mayor have already helped over 100 women and children experiencing domestic abuse.”
Maari Nastari, CEO of Star Support, a by-and-for refuge service that supports trans survivors, said: “Star Support is excited about the opportunity DASAHP provides for small by-and-for organisations such as ourselves to work with larger registered providers to diversify our offer to minoritisied groups.
“It is essential that survivors have access to services and homes that meet their needs and we need to recognise and respond to the additional barriers some survivors experience in terms of their accommodation and support.”
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Notes to editors
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Further background on the London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Homes Programme (DASAHP)
- Bids for capital and revenue funding will be welcomed from March 2024, through a period of continuous market engagement (CME) up to the end of December 2024, subject to available funds. Interested bidders are encouraged to get in touch with us at [email protected].
- Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (the 2021 Act) confers a statutory duty on Tier 1 authorities (the GLA in London) to support survivors of domestic abuse in safe accommodation. As part of this duty, we have undertaken the 2021 needs assessment and, based on this, prepared, published, and kept under review the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation (DASA) strategy: https://www.london.gov.uk/publications/domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation-strategy
- DLUHC allocates administration and support funding to the GLA to support it in discharging the duty – c. £21m a year since 2021. For 2024/2025, this figure is £21,559,735. A range of services have since been commissioned to take forward the proposals set out in the strategy, to increase the level and quality of provision for survivors and their children.
- Adopting a unique commissioning approach, which involved the establishment of a framework of 52 providers, MOPAC, with the GLA, then called off from the framework to commission support. Over 70 projects have been supported as part of this programme since 2021. The Mayor recently publicly announced the new round of funding as part of this work for 2024/2025 – £15m for ongoing projects, including 14 new initiatives.
- The funding the GLA receives from DLUHC is to support the delivery of the DA duties. While the funding is revenue only, it provides us a unique opportunity to better align our existing capital funding for new and improved affordable housing and revenue funding for safe accommodation services. We know that lack of revenue is one of the biggest barriers to providers being confident to develop new supported and specialist housing (SSH).
- The programme aims to encourage partnership working across the DA and housing sectors. We know that a lot of DA providers, particularly specialist or “by and for” organisations, are often not registered providers (RPs) themselves and do not hold existing relationships with larger RPs. A key aim of this programme is to encourage further collaboration between the two sectors to be able to increase the supply of properties whilst providing specialist support.
- The programme also aims to support the delivery of specialist and supported housing, as set out in the Mayor’s London Housing Strategy. It will contribute to the increase of affordable housing supply in London alongside the Mayor’s other capital funding programmes such as AHP 21-26 and the Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) fund.