Funding for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) support services is fragmented, complex and difficult to understand, leading to some victims and survivors falling through the gaps, a new report commissioned by London Councils reveals.

The report by AVA (Action Against Violence and Abuse), due to be launched at a parliamentary event later today,  

shines a light on the funding landscape of support services for victims and survivors of VAWG by mapping current available funding and its impact on people’s lives.

It reveals a number of significant challenges support services are facing in accessing funding which undermine their ability to provide a sustainable high quality service. These include the fact that the majority of funding available for VAWG support services is short term, which can mean that key staff are often on notice to be made redundant as the next tranche of funding is sought.

London Councils Executive Member for Community Safety and Violence Against Women and Girls, Cllr Jas Athwal, said: “The short-term nature of funding to provide support services means vulnerable Londoners are being exposed to unnecessary risk whilst facing barriers in accessing the vital support they need. We need long term and sustainable funding to ensure that Londoners can access the right support for them and at the right time.

“VAWG is endemic in our society, and it has to stop. London boroughs are working together to highlight it and to do everything we can to tackle it in all its forms, working in conjunction with our partners. London Councils' report sets out just how vital support services for survivors of VAWG are, and why it’s so important that we secure long-term funding guarantees to be able to deliver it.”

You can read the report on London Councils' website here.

The government last week published its long anticipated Renters' (Reform) Bill, setting out the government's proposed changes to the law in relation to rented homes, including provision abolishing fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies; imposing obligations on landlords and others in relation to rented homes and temporary and supported accommodation.

Responding to the Bill's publication,London Councils’ Executive Member for Regeneration, Housing
& Planning, Cllr Darren Rodwell,  said: “Two million Londoners live in private rented sector homes and they all deserve stronger protection.

“Banning no-fault evictions is an essential step forward. Too often we’ve seen Londoners turfed out of their homes for no good reason and made homeless, turning their lives upside down. With London’s homelessness pressures at near-record levels, we cannot afford for things to continue as they are.

“Boroughs want to work with the government to make a success of these reforms, but it is vital that councils are provided with the powers and resources we need to enforce the new rules. We will also continue to push for more action on the other issues driving London’s housing crisis. This includes addressing the chronic shortage of affordable housing in the capital and using the benefits system to provide more support for renters struggling to pay their rent.”

The London Infrastructure Framework, launched by London Councils at UKREiff in Leed last week, brings together a pipeline of strategic infrastructure projects for London with pan-London cross-party support in one place.

The Framework sets out the role of infrastructure in building a more inclusive, sustainable and prosperous London. It highlights the need for new partnership and financing models for our infrastructure and regeneration projects, underpinning our desire for an ambitious new growth deal for London that allows the city to keep more of the proceeds of local growth so that the capital can fully contribute to the drive for national growth.

You can read more about the London Infrastructure Framework on our website here.