Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:17 pm on 15 December 2021.
Thank you, and Altaf Hussain is correct that we have provided significant additional funding to this sector over the course of the pandemic, recognising the points that he and John Griffiths have described. We've provided over £1.2 million in dispersed community-based accommodation for those for whom refuge provision isn't suitable, and for move-on accommodation. I think this has been really important in terms of freeing up space within refuges so that people could still leave if they needed to during what has been such a difficult time. And about £0.25 million extra funding was initially made available at the start of the financial year, which was topped up with further funding in that respect. And that's also enabled some of our domestic violence services to reconfigure what they do, and to do so in a COVID-secure way, such as equipping refuges and supporting victims, providing PPE and so on. So, there has been lots of important work that has had to take place this year that has been specifically in response to the pandemic. But, as I said, my colleague, the Minister for Social Justice, will be listening very carefully to this question and, I'm sure, taking on board what colleagues have been saying.