APPG chair says a ‘fresh start’ for domestic abuse survivors does not include an unfurnished home with no carpets

She added: “We cannot, in good conscience, tell a woman she is safe now, hand her keys to a home and then leave her standing in an empty shelter with no cooker, no bed, no washing machine, no curtains. Because that is not a fresh start, that is another hurdle that she has to overcome, and in too many cases, it risks pushing women back to their abuser.”

Speaking to Inside Housing after the speech, Ms Barker said that the campaign had been delayed due to the resignation of Angela Rayner, but that she hoped the letter to Steve Reed would see the government update guidance for social housing providers to let 10% of homes as furnished.

The letter, co-signed by more than 45 other MPs, and seen by Inside Housing, said: “We believe this target would help address the immediate needs of those most vulnerable and ensure that tenants across all housing tenures have access to the basic furniture they need to thrive.”

In her conference speech, Ms Barker also said that women “must be front and centre” of the government’s strategy on homelessness and the housing crisis. She said that, while she does “welcome” the removal of the local connection test for domestic abuse survivors, “it is just one step... and there is much still to do.”

Ms Barker also said it was crucial that councils receive multi-year funding settlements: “It’s no good expecting councils to plan strategically when they are given short, stop-start pots of money, because survivors deserve better than that.”

She also called for better data collection to be “one of the first priorities” in the government’s approach to homelessness and rough sleeping, saying that she has “real concerns” that rough sleeping data collections are under-counting women. “Unless we understand the scale of the problem, we cannot begin to solve it,” she said.

Ms Barker asked the government to think beyond simply building homes, in its approach to supporting domestic violence survivors in housing.

“Yes, we desperately need more social homes, but we all know that that takes time,” she said. “So in the short and medium term, we need urgent interventions so that’s why we must embed a whole-housing approach.” She called for more supported housing schemes, and an expansion of Housing First: “schemes that recognise that healing and rebuilding takes more than a roof over someone’s head”.

She added: “Secure housing is not just about bricks and mortar, but it is about safety, dignity, the ability to rebuild a life.”