Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the £76 million funding to
support vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced
on 2 May, will be distributed.
The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video
call.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport () (Con)
My Lords, the £76 million government package of support to
charities supporting vulnerable people, which is targeted at
several different groups, will be administered by the MHCLG, the
DfE, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. Departments are
working hard to get the funds to where they are needed as soon as
possible. Details on how domestic abuse charities can access the
vital funds they need were set out by the Communities Secretary
on 7 May, and the application information is clear that the
department aims to announce successful grantees by the end of
May.
(LD)
The Minister will be aware that the £76 million is a
reannouncement of part of the £750 million announced for
charities on 8 April, nearly five weeks ago. Charities are
reporting that very little of that money is getting through to
the coalface—in other words, to them—and many are financially on
their knees. Why did the Government take until last Thursday to
announce that domestic violence charities must bid for £10
million of the already announced £76 million of the already
announced £750 million, for housing? Why, according to the
application form, must they contribute something from their own
resources towards the additional costs they are facing when they
are already stretched beyond their limits?
The noble Baroness is right that these charities perform an
absolutely critical role. The Government and all departments are
moving as fast as they possibly can to meet these needs and make
sure that this funding gets to the right place as quickly as
possible.
(Con)
My Lords, I welcome the announced funding—I think it will do
good—but I have one question. How do we promote the routes out of
risk for those who are experiencing abuse? By what means can we
encourage that promotion and how much of this funding will go
towards ensuring that those who are most at risk have routes of
escape?
My noble friend is quite right that we need to think about the
long-term position of people who are experiencing abuse. In
providing this funding, we will work with specialist charities,
which are the real experts in this, to understand the perspective
of victims and address their need for both immediate safety and
long-term freedom from abuse.
(CB)
Covid-19 is making the task of identifying victims of human
trafficking even more difficult. Some victims may have gone
underground and perhaps are in grave danger. Providing essential
and practical support has become even more challenging. It has
become very difficult because charities which normally provide
practical support are under resource constraints. How are the
Government ensuring that support and funds are reaching those
charities in a timely manner and that every effort is being made
by authorities to seek out such victims?
The noble Baroness touches on an important area. The lead here is
the Home Office, which has been working through the modern
slavery victim care contract to make sure that government-funded
safe accommodation and ongoing support are made available to
victims of modern slavery as quickly as possible.
(Lab)
Will the Minister bear in mind that asylum seekers are among the
most vulnerable groups in society? They currently receive only
£37 per person per week, which is 72% below the poverty line.
Will the Government do something for asylum seekers in these very
difficult times?
The Government are very aware that particular groups, including
asylum seekers, are especially vulnerable. We have a voluntary
and community sector emergency partnership involving
organisations such as the British Red Cross, and we are getting
regular intelligence, feedback and advice on how to respond to
those particular needs.
(LD)
I am sure that we all agree that the voluntary sector needs our
immediate support, and we plead with the Government to do that,
but we must avoid increasing the number of vulnerable people. One
such increase is unemployment. Even last September, the Governor
of the Bank of England said that a hard Brexit could mean half a
million more unemployed people. However, it is worse than that:
we face not a hard Brexit but an impossible Brexit, an impossible
deal. We must do everything we can, including extending the
transition period from the end of December, because we cannot
have fruitful ongoing discussions under the threat of the virus.
Will the Government look again and extend that transition period?
The Government are keeping all those issues under review. Their
commitment to supporting people to stay in employment remains
undiminished.
(Non-Afl)
Voluntary sector workers with type 1 diabetes have been pressured
to go back to work even where their doctor has advised otherwise.
Is there some way in which this funding could be used to deal
with what is an anomaly in current practice and policy?
I am unclear as to whether this fund would be applicable, but the
Government’s advice on going back to work is clear: people should
go back to work only if it is safe to do so, and, clearly, an
existing medical condition could impact on that. As the noble
Lord knows, detailed guidance is being produced. I recommend that
those in the situation that he describes refer to it.
(Lab)
My Lords, it is a relief that the Government have recognised the
urgent need for funding for domestic abuse charities. Like the
noble Baroness, Lady Burt, I am concerned about their having to
match some of the contributions. I know that the Minister
understands this issue well, so can she assure the House that the
Government now accept that those organisations are essential and
will never again face the levels of uncertainty over their
funding which they have experienced over the past 10 years?
The Government have been absolutely clear. Like me, the noble
Baroness recognises what a huge issue domestic abuse is, not just
for women but, critically, for children growing up in homes where
fear and coercion are the norm.
(LD)
My Lords, one of the strands of funding is through the Department
for Education to support vulnerable children, but it has become
clear through the discussion this morning that there will be new
cases of domestic abuse. How does the Department for Education
identify new cases of vulnerability if there is not regular sight
of children going to school?
The noble Baroness raises a crucial point. A number of
organisations, including the Department for Education and
charities in this field, are finding new ways to make sure that
they have regular contact, whether by phone or online or, where
safe to do so, face to face, to support those children.
(CB)
My Lords, asylum seekers waiting for asylum decisions are
expected to live on £37.75 a week. Can the Minister assure the
House that either a generous portion of the £76 million for
vulnerable people can somehow find its way to these particularly
deprived people or, better still, that asylum support rates will
be lifted by £20 per week in line with universal credit?
It is up to individual departments to decide exactly how the
funding for vulnerable people is distributed, but I acknowledge
what the noble Baroness said. This is a particularly vulnerable
group.
