A Government funding package to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, vulnerable children and their families has been welcomed by the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

A total of £76m of extra funding is being made available through different Government departments to support vulnerable victims during the Covid19 crisis.

Of the £76m the Ministry of Justice is administering £25m, of which £20m will be distributed through police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to meet the additional costs registered charities or social enterprise have incurred or will incur whilst adapting their services during the pandemic, and to cope with demand increases resulting from it, during this time period.

Bids for funding should fall into one of three areas

• Domestic abuse services that are already commissioned by PCCs – £237,000
• Sexual violence services that are already commissioned by PCCs and those that are not currently funded by PCCs – £118,500
• Domestic abuse services that are not currently commissioned by PCCs – £118,500

Dr Alan Billings, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire, said: “Whilst staying at home has been an important part of the strategy to prevent the spreading of coronavirus, for those people who are in abusive relationships being at home isn’t safe.

“In the early stages of this situation we saw a reduction in complaints of domestic abuse but we are now seeing these rising as people are trapped at home and becoming increasingly more vulnerable and at risk.

“I welcome this funding which will help vital organisations within South Yorkshire to provide services to protect victims and prevent perpetrators from exploiting lockdown to increase their coercive control.”

To be eligible for the funding, organisations must be a registered charity, a charitable incorporated organisation, or a social enterprise, including companies limited by guarantee and community interest companies. They must provide support services which have the purpose of helping domestic and sexual abuse victims cope with the impacts of crime, and, as far as possible, recover from the harm they have experienced.

The funding is provided to help meet the additional costs incurred by services during the pandemic, and to cope with demand increases resulting from it. The funding is available to support up to 31 October and is not available for new services or projects related to Covid19.

Organisations who are interested in bidding for some of the funding that will be available in South Yorkshire are asked submit their bids by 23.59pm on 5 June, application documents will be on the PCC website soon.

Dr Billings added: “The timescale for this funding is very tight and we ask interested organisations to contact us as soon as possible in order for us to submit our application to the Ministry of Justice before the deadline.”

The rest of the £76 fund will be through other government departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, who will allocate £10m for domestic abuse safe accommodation.

Support organisations applying for funding will be able to bid to more than one of the funding streams.