Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping writes to Newark MP Robert Jenrick welcoming the Safe Accommodation Fund, to benefit Newark Women's Aid

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, Paddy Tipping has called for a swift decision on the allocation of new funding for domestic violence refuge services.

Mr Tipping has written to the Newark MP Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, welcoming the launch of the Safe Accommodation Fund ­— £15m announced in November for the provision of specialist support and safe accommodation to help victims of domestic violence rebuild their lives.

The fund is available to all local authorities during 2020-21 for the commissioning of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation.

In his letter, Mr Tipping wrote of the need for funding decisions to be announced quickly to secure Nottinghamshire’s existing services and minimise the risk of losing trained and experience refuge support workers.

He said: “The city and county councils and I invest over £3.5m annually into a wide range of specialist domestic support services and we already have specialist multi-agency strategic partnerships in place.”

Mr Tipping said in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, almost half the 77 refuges were funded by Mr Jenrick’s ministry.

“If further (ministry) funding is not secured, we will be unable to sustain them locally,” he said, while expressing concern a potential time delay between the current funding finishing and the new investment starting.

He said partners were working locally to identify bridging funding to secure services temporarily, should this occur.

Newark Women’s Aid refuge has applied for funding.

The charity was set up by Marlene after she fled domestic violence.

It needs to raise £140,000 a year to stay open.

However, its main funding, from Mr Jenrick’s department, is due to end in March.

In a bid to raise money to keep the refuge open, Susan Macdonald organised a fundraising concert by popular UK swing band Jack Pack in November.

The gig was a huge success and it can now be revealed that it raised nearly £10,000, minus the costs from the event.

Marlene said: “The show was absolutely amazing and we are so pleased with the amount that was raised.”

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