Campaign launched to save nine women’s centres across Lancashire threatened with closure

County Hall bosses said they have had to withdraw funding to nine centres after being told to cut their budget by £262million over the next four years.

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The move has angered anti domestic violence campaigners who claim lives will be put at risk.

Now a petition has been launched to save the centres by John and Penny Clough, whose daughter Jane was murdered by her ex-partner Jonathan Vass, while he was on bail charged with raping her.

They have been supported by Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson who yesterday raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions with David Cameron.

Mr Clough said: “How can it be right to take away money from domestic abuse services that help men, women and children?

“Penny and I are patrons of Safenet at Burnley.

“We have been in touch with management there and we know the stress that this is putting on them as they work out how they’re going to keep on running.

“As a region we are already not providing all the places we need at women’s refuges. Now if we’re looking at losing all the funding what are the centres’s meant to do?”

Mr and Mrs Clough, who live in Higherford, have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of domestic abuse since their daughter, a nurse at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, was murdered in 2010.

They said refuges were ‘lifelines’ and closures could not be allowed to happen as the move would play into the hands of attackers while putting lives at risk.

Refuges across Lancashire, including Accrington, Burnley and Rossendale, deal with hundreds of victims every year.

They are now faced with the challenge of finding alternative funding, make major changes or close down completely.

Mr Clough, said: “We are appealing to Lancashire County Council to review that decision to cut off the funding for refuges.

“There’s a lot at stake if the refuges start to close. Where are victims supposed to go?

“Are they going to be foisted on local hospitals, community services?

“The money that they spend on supporting victims will not be as cost effective as funding the refuges.”

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Stephenson said: “Lancashire’s nine women’s refuges are currently at threat because the Labour run county council are proposing to cut all of the funding.

“Does the Prime Minister agree with the Clough family and myself that the Labour run council should prioritise domestic violence?”

Cameron replied: “In terms of making sure we stop violence against women and girls, no one should be living in fear of these crimes, that is why we committed £80million of extra funding until 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls.

“This does include funding for securing the future of refuges and other accommodation based services.

“But it obviously helps if local councils make the right decisions as well.”

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 1.4million women in Britain suffered domestic abuse in the year 2013-14.

Men can also become victims, but female cases outnumber them by three-to-one in cases recorded by police forces.

Two women’s refuges in Blackburn are run by The Wish Centre.

The majority of their funding comes from Blackburn with Darwen Council, however that has been cut by 50 per cent over the past three years.

In 2014/15 the refuges housed 48 women and 55 children, worked with 7,312 children and 3,462 clients and answered 18,847 calls via its helpline, figures which are typical of other refuges.

Shigufta Khan, chief executive of The Wish Centre, said: “I’ve seen the petition and signed it, this is a massive issue.

“Women and their families come to the refuges at times of extreme crisis, often just temporarily while injunctions and other legal matters are sorted out.

“Without their help they would be left in their home at their mercy of their attackers, often in constant fear for their lives.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “The county council takes domestic abuse very seriously, providing £900,000 per year to provide support across nine refuges, run by a variety of organisations.

“This level of funding will remain in place until March 2017.

“The proposed changes to the council’s element of funding are due to an unprecedented financial challenge for the county council.

“With such pressures on the council’s funding we have to focus on those services required by law, such as social care for the elderly and vulnerable.

“Despite the planned changes, the council recognises the need to make urgent support available, which is why a £3million annual Prevention and Early Help Fund is being established.

“Although details of the support this funding will provide have not yet been finalised, victims of domestic violence have been identified as a priority group.”

John and Penny Clough’s petition ‘Stop funding cuts to Lancashire Refuges’ can be found at the website change.org.