Pandemic has exacerabated vulnerabilities such as domestic abuse, social isolation, poverty and mental health

Hardyal Dhindsa presents a cheque to Tracy Harrison, chief executive of the Safe and Sound charity that works to protect children at risk of exploitation including sexual, trafficking and modern slavery.

With restrictions and guidelines changing by the day, it has been an exceptionally challenging time for our schools, the hospitality industry, health care workers and employers in general and I would like to thank everybody in Derbyshire for the diligence and support they continue to show in promoting safety.

Derbyshire has a number of critical support services and I have been working alongside those providers to ensure vulnerable people who need help still can access it in the safest way possible. The pandemic has exacerbated many existing vulnerabilities including domestic abuse, social isolation, disadvantage, poverty and mental ill-health and while there is a need to ramp up measures to limit social contact it is vital our support services are able to expand to match demand.

Since the start of this crisis, I have allocated more than £439k in emergency grants to charities and non-profit organisations which are safeguarding victims of violence and supporting their emotional recovery. The funding has helped each service meet the increased cost of adapting services to account for social distancing as well as to boost staffing and expand safe accommodation for victims and their families. Elsewhere, we have supported community organisations to prevent exploitation of the elderly and young people during the crisis and expand help services.

Like my counterparts across the East Midlands, I have been deeply disappointed by the government’s decision to overlook the region once again for a Nightingale Court. Despite an escalating backlog of cases in the crown court, not one of the eight locations in the latest round of Nightingale Courts is in our region which is a terrible injustice to victims of crime in Derbyshire and across our borders.

I will be continuing to voice our indignation at the highest level to give victims in Derbyshire the swift justice they deserve and have been promised by the government.