Labour MPs warn that the government’s plans to remove refuges from the welfare system will put lives at riskKeir Starmer, the shadow cabinet member and former chief prosecutor, has called for mandatory funding for refuges amid criticism over a shake-up of funding for women’s services. Starmer, the former director of public prosecutions (DPP) and shadow Brexit secretary, called for mandatory funding. Instead of being able to use housing benefit to fund refuges, the government proposes handing a “ring-fenced” grant to councils for short-term supported housing. Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) Let's stop this perpetual argument about funding for refuges by making funding mandatory. David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, told the Guardian: “We urgently need to save women’s refuges and other forms of supported housing that are reliant on housing benefit to stay open.

Source: The Guardian November 27, 2017 18:53 UTC