THE GOVERNMENT will spend £76m on improving support for vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis.

Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick said the extra cash will be made available to help survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, vulnerable children, and victims of modern slavery.

He said the Government had already announced an extra £15 million to strengthen its support, with an extra £16 million going directly to refuge services.

He added:"This additional support will ensure more safe spaces and accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse and their children, and the recruitment of additional councillors for victims of sexual violence."

Announcing that victims of domestic violence will get priority access to local housing, Mr Jenrick said: "For some in our society these measures involve sacrifices that none of us would wish anyone to bear.

"For victims of domestic abuse it means being trapped in a nightmare.

"The true evil of domestic abuse is that it leaves vulnerable people including children living in fear in the very place where they should feel most safe and secure: inside their own home."

Mr Jenrick said the Government's Domestic Abuse Bill, which had its second reading in Parliament last week, would create "the first ever legal definition of domestic abuse".

He claimed that through the bill, the Government would "be ensuring that the victims of domestic violence get the priority need status that they need to access to local housing services much more easily".

It was also that the funding will also help frontline charities to offer virtual ways to assist those in need, including phone-based services.

Mr Jenrick said: "We know that some refuges have had to reduce, or even to cancel the services that they would want to provide during the pandemic.

"This funding will help them to meet the challenges posed in this national emergency, and to continue to help those that desperately need support."

Addressing victims of domestic violence directly, Mr Jenrick said: "You are not alone, you do not have to stay at home, you can and should leave the home if you're in danger."

He added: "Our outstanding police will be there for you, they will help you."

Mr Jenrick revealed more than 5,400 rough sleepers known to councils have been offered safe accommodation in the past month, "ensuring that some of the most vulnerable people can stay safe during the pandemic".

He said Dame Louise Casey, who is already spearheading the Government's response on rough sleeping, has been appointed to oversee the national effort on helping the homeless.

Mr Jenrick added: "She will work hand-in-hand with councils and with other groups across the country to plan how we can ensure that as many people as possible can move into the long-term sustainable and safe accommodation that they deserve once the pandemic is over."