Budget Impact
This year’s Budget has been tentatively welcomed by Kate Rowland, CEO of Swindon Domestic Abuse Support Service (SWA/SDASS).
She said: “The Government’s investment in housing is a positive move as the ongoing housing crisis impacts victims and survivors of domestic abuse in terms of their ability to flee their abusers and start their new lives in recovery. Domestic abuse organisations across the country are all too often experiencing backlogs as survivors who receive support through refuges have nowhere to move on to. This then impacts on the people who need support but cannot access it.
“However, we hope that when the full budget is released later this evening we will also see additional funding allocated to domestic abuse services to support the Government’s pledge to halve violence against women and girls across the next decade. The Government needs to take a joined-up approach tackling domestic abuse, as well as addressing housing and mental health support amongst others, if we are ever to achieve our goal of a society without abuse.
“From a business perspective, the increase in Employers’ National Insurance rates is concerning as this will impact on us as a charity; meaning we will need to fundraise further in order to cover this additional cost.”
