Plymouth will lobby to spare safe rooms from from Bedroom Tax

Plymouth councillors agreed to lobby Government to make safe rooms for the victims of domestic abuse exempt from the bedroom tax today.

Councillor Nicky Williams, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, put forward the motion to Full Council calling for cross-party backing of the exemption. She asked for agreement in the meantime for discretionary housing payments to cover the reductions made as a result of the bedroom tax on safe rooms.

Councillor Penberthy seconded the motion and after it was amended to include further commitments about working with housing associations and the police to identify victims and to continue to work with them to feel safe in their own homes, it was unanimously voted in.

Women facing some of the worst domestic abuse use a sanctuary system, installed in their home, including a reinforced room where they can go safely with a hotline direct to the police. In Plymouth 39 such rooms have been installed in the past three years.

The government’s bedroom tax counts these vital safe rooms as an extra bedroom, reducing the amount of housing benefit that can be claimed and putting women at risk of eviction due to non-payment of rent.

Councillor Williams explains: “This is a national issue that needs to be heard. We must give a strong message to Government - councils around the country must unite to lobby for this change. The bedroom tax could quite literally be putting lives at risk and it is an extra burden that the victims of domestic abuse really should not have to cope with. Let’s not forget these rooms are not bedrooms but places where victims and their children can safely retreat if they are at risk of violence.

“Add this to the other groups already suffering as a result of the bedroom tax and it becomes clear just how ill-thought out this was. So far, those vulnerable groups at risk because of the bedroom tax now include: families with disabled children, foster carers and now the victims of domestic abuse. A swift and widespread review of this one-size-fits-all tax needs to be urgently undertaken, so that society’s most vulnerable are not being penalised.”

Domestic abuse accounts for 17 per cent of all crime nationally, and one in four women have been the victim of domestic abuse. Throughout the UK two women a week are killed by a partner or former partner.

Speaking at Full Council on Monday, Councillor Williams, said: “Today is the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women” as designated by the UN General Assembly. Quite simply we have a duty to talk about it. Now I know I have been criticised by colleagues before for talking only about women being the victims of domestic violence, so I would like to acknowledge that men can be victims too, however statistics show that approximately 90 per cent of the victims are female and that 90 per cent of the perpetrators are male.

“In the year 2012/13 there were 6,092 domestic abuse incidents recorded in Plymouth, yet we know that these are only the tip of the iceberg since on average a woman is assaulted 35 times before she reports it to the police. But this figure is still a five per cent increase on the previous year, up 309 incidents, and of all those reported 33 per cent resulted in a crime being recorded.”

Domestic abuse is a significant factor in relation to child protection issues. As at April 2011 there were 314 children with a child protection plan in Plymouth, 135 of which (30.41%) identified domestic violence as a major issue.

However, this figure is considered an under representative of the actual amount as nationally up to 75 percent of children on child protection orders are there, in part, because of concerns over domestic violence in the family. The findings of a number of historic serious case reviews into deaths of children in Plymouth have identified domestic abuse as a significant factor.

Plymouth has adopted a target for 2013/14 to increase the reporting of domestic abuse by six per cent compared to last year, and to date there has been an increase of 18 per cent. This reflects the increased multi agency training carried out in the city, combined with increased awareness raising efforts.

Women's Aid is calling on councils to take action to overcome the issue of safe rooms being subject to the bedroom tax. Yesterday’s vote sees Plymouth joining Swindon in the councils already signed up.

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid said: “The ‘Bedroom Tax’, puts women and children at risk: potentially making women who have a home which has been made into a safe space through the sanctuary scheme move from the only place they are safe from their abusers. It was introduced without consideration of the difficulties survivors of domestic violence face in moving safely from one property to another, and at a time when there is a severe lack of safe smaller properties to move into. We welcome this move by Plymouth City Council, and hope they will continue to protect women experiencing domestic violence locally.”

Victims of domestic abuse facing problems due to the introduction of the bedroom tax, or anyone experiencing domestic abuse, can call the Plymouth Domestic Abuse Service, run by Sanctuary Supported Living, on 01752 252033 or the Plymouth Refuge on 01752 562286.

If someone feels they are in immediate danger, they should call 999.