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The press release issued by the Home Office on 12 May 2025.

Thousands more victims to access life-saving support through a £19.9 million investment in specialist services.

Thousands more victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, ‘honour’-based abuse and stalking will have access to specialist support services thanks to a boost of nearly £20 million announced by the Safeguarding Minister today.

Part of this funding will go towards backing helplines which can offer potentially life-saving support for survivors of abuse. Victims can find these experiences incredibly hard to talk about and contacting helplines for advice is often the first critical step in their journey to escape abuse, access vital support and eventually seek justice.

To help more victims access support at the most vulnerable moments in their lives, a range of helplines supporting victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, ‘honour’-based abuse and stalking will benefit from £6 million in investment this year – an increase of around a fifth compared to the previous year.

This investment is designed to reach as many different communities as possible and will bolster a range of vital specialist services in England and Wales supporting victims and survivors who face unique and challenging circumstances.

Nine helplines across 8 charities, including: Refuge who run the National Domestic Abuse helpline; Hourglass, a charity supporting older victims; SignHealth who support victims who are Deaf; Galop; The Suzy Lamplugh Trust; Karma Nirvana; and Respect will receive funding to continue providing vital helpline services to victims, recruit more staff and support more victims escaping abuse.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips said:

No victim should ever feel abandoned when trying to escape abuse. But the harsh reality is that too many do – especially those from marginalised communities who face significant additional hurdles.

Last week, I met survivors who felt the system wasn’t built for people like them. I hope this funding will change that. It’s about smashing down barriers and making sure every single person facing abuse has somewhere to turn when they make the brave decision to seek help.

The funding package announced today also includes £5.3 million for services supporting children affected by domestic abuse, who are often the hidden victims of this devastating crime, to support them through one-to-one and group counselling, classroom-based assistance and help for their non-abusive parents across 8 specialist services nationwide.

Charity Southall Black Sisters will receive £2.4 million to support migrant victims of abuse who are not able to access public funds.

And to give victims direct access to financial support to escape abusive relationships, a wide range of specialist domestic abuse services will receive around £2 million through the Women’s Aid Flexible Fund. Through the fund, organisations across England and Wales, including Welsh Women’s Aid, will give payments of up to £500 to help victims secure safety and one-off payments of up to £2,500 for deposits for rental accommodation to help secure sustainable and independent futures.

This is underscored by £2.5 million for projects to help prevent and improve the response to violence and abuse against women and girls, raise awareness of these issues and protect victims who are at risk.

The government was elected on a mission to make our streets safer for everyone as part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.

Today’s announcement marks a vital step in our pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, ensuring victims of these appalling crimes have somewhere to turn and the support they need to recover from abuse.

Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said:

Whether fearing for their lives or growing up in a home filled with stress and anxiety, victims should feel confident that support will be there to help them recover, but sadly too often this isn’t the case.

This funding for struggling specialist domestic abuse services, especially those supporting children, will bring much needed relief to survivors and services, who have been doing all they can to ensure help is there for people during one of their most vulnerable moments in life.

Tackling domestic abuse requires drive, ambition and political will. I look forward to seeing how the government’s forthcoming violence against women and girls’ strategy builds on this investment by ensuring every victim and survivor gets what they need – exactly when they need it – so they can recover from abuse.

Last week, the Minister for Safeguarding visited Refuge’s headquarters to meet with charity leaders and victims and discuss the unique challenges facing vulnerable individuals and harder to reach communities when they seek help. She also saw the National Domestic Abuse helpline in action and spoke to call handlers about the vital work they do.

CEO of Refuge, Gemma Sherrington said:

The National Domestic Abuse Helpline, operated by Refuge, offers a lifeline for thousands of survivors every year. Open 7 days a week and 365 days a year, the support given by the helpline often represents the first step towards a life free from abuse and fear.

We are incredibly grateful for this much-needed funding boost, which will sustain this vital service for the coming year. Rather than covering the running costs of the helpline, our fundraised resources can now be directed towards supporting survivors, while bringing us one step closer to a world where domestic abuse is not tolerated.

The funding will also allow us to extend our live chat hours and make accessibility improvements to the helpline website, meaning we can reach more survivors than ever before.

Esther*, a survivor of domestic abuse supported by Refuge, said:

Funding for domestic abuse services is not only vital but absolutely necessary. Domestic abuse, in all its shapes, is still very much a problem and I’m hearing more and more tragic stories than ever before. Funding is needed for not only the aftercare for victims/survivors but also for the services that provide advice and support for people that are fleeing abuse.

The transition from deciding to leave and actually leaving is one of the scariest experiences and it’s important that support and guidance is on hand. I know for certain that without help from these services, my story would have ended very differently, and I would not be here to talk at all. They gave me the courage and opportunity to live and smile again. I will always be forever grateful.

Alongside Raneem’s Law, with domestic abuse specialists embedded in the first 999 control rooms across the country, this £19.9 million investment will help ensure that wherever victims of these crimes reach out for help – whether to police or charities – they will receive a specialist response tailored to their needs.

This announcement follows a £13.1 million investment in a new policing centre to tackle violence against women and girls and enable police to better target these crimes, an uplift of nearly £2 million.

Nikita Kanda, broadcaster and Refuge ambassador, said:

I welcome today’s announcement of almost £20 million in funding for a range of vital and specialist services including Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse helpline. With this investment we will be able to strengthen our commitment to support all communities and empower those enduring domestic violence.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 12 May 2025.

Radical reforms to Britain’s immigration system, restoring control to our borders and reducing record-high levels of net migration have been set out.

Measures unveiled in the immigration white paper published today (Monday 12 May) will reshape our immigration system towards those who contribute most to economic growth, with higher skills standards for graduates and workers.

New requirements on employers to boost domestic training will end the reliance on international recruitment, restoring order to a failed system that saw net migration quadruple between 2019 and 2023.

Key policies in the 82 page blueprint, titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, include the following:

• reversing the long-term trend of increasing international recruitment at the expense of skills and training
• the labour market evidence group will be established, drawing on the best data available in order to make informed decisions about the state of the labour market and the role that different policies should play, rather than always relying on migration
• departments across government will engage sector bodies as part of this approach

Raising Skilled Worker threshold – skilled must mean skilled

Lifting the level for skilled workers back to RQF 6 (Graduate level) and above. Salary thresholds will rise.

The immigration salary list, which gives people discounts from salary thresholds, will be abolished.

Access to the points-based immigration system will be limited to occupations where there have been long term shortages, on a time limited basis, where the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has advised it is justified, where there is a workforce strategy in place, and where employers seeking to recruit from abroad are committed to playing their part in increasing recruitment from the domestic workforce.

Adult social care

End overseas recruitment for social care visas. In line with our wider reforms to skills thresholds, we will close social care visas to new applications from abroad.

For a transition period until 2028, while the workforce strategy is being developed and rolled out, we will permit visa extensions and in-country switching for those already here. This will be kept under review.

Study

We will strengthen the requirements that all sponsoring institutions must meet in order to recruit international students.

We will introduce new interventions for sponsors who are close to failing their sponsor duties, including placing them on an action plan designed to improve their compliance, and imposing limits on the number of new international students they can recruit while they are subject to those plans.

We will reduce the ability for graduates to remain in the UK after their studies to a period of 18 months.

Family

We will tackle the over complex family and private life immigration arrangements, where too many cases are treated as ‘exceptional’ rather than having a clear framework.

Legislation will be brought forward to make clear it is the government and Parliament that decides who should have the right to remain in the UK. This will address cases where Article 8 right to family life legal arguments are being used to frustrate deportation where removal is clearly in the public interest.

Growth

We will go further in ensuring that the very highly skilled have opportunities to come to the UK and access our targeted routes for the brightest and best global talent.

This includes increasing the number of people arriving on our very high talent routes, alongside faster routes for bringing people to the UK who have the right skills and experience to supercharge UK growth in strategic industries.

This includes increasing places to our scheme for research interns, making it easier for top scientific and design talent to use our Global Talent visa, and reviewing our Innovator Founder visa and High Potential Individual route to maximise their benefit to the UK economy.

Tackling abuse

New policies will apply to individuals who claim asylum where conditions in their home country have not materially changed, particularly where they have claimed asylum after arrival.

Tighter visa controls, restrictions, requirements or scrutiny will be applied where we have evidence of abuse, based on a clear assessment of the risks.

Measures to ensure that other governments play their part in supporting the integrity of the UK immigration system – particularly where there are currently barriers in the way of us returning their nationals.

Innovative financial measures, penalties or sanctions, including for sponsors of migrant workers or students where there is evidence of abuse. These will incentivise them to act responsibly, with new measures to support compliance with visa conditions by migrants.

Foreign national offenders (FNOs)

Reform the deportation system to ensure the Home Office is informed of all foreign nationals convicted of offences – not just those who go to prison.

Review deportation thresholds to take into account a wider range of factors than just the length of sentence, and start by revising the statutory exceptions criteria to ensure that the deportation test reflects the seriousness of violence against women and girls.

English language

Introduce new English language requirements across a broader range of immigration routes, for both main applicants and their dependants, to ensure a better knowledge of English, including an assessment of improvements over time.

Earned settlement and citizenship

Double the standard qualifying period for settlement to 10 years.

Expand the points-based system to both our settlement and citizenship rules, so they are based on contribution to the UK, with further details to be set out to Parliament by the end of the year.

The policies outlined, part of the government’s Plan for Change, will be delivered over the course of this Parliament to strengthen the UK’s immigration system, with the first changes set to be introduced in the coming weeks.

The government will publish further reforms to the asylum system and border security later this summer, building on measures in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill currently progressing through Parliament.