Local authorities are now able to bid for money from an £8m fund in order to help children who have been affected by domestic abuse, the Government announced over the weekend.

The multi-million pound fund is aimed at helping councils, charities and other organisations intervene early to protect children from domestic abuse, which affects more than two million people each year.

NSPCC statistics show that one in five children in the UK are exposed to domestic abuse during childhood.

A quarter of girls and 18% of boys aged 13 to 17 have also reported having experienced some form of physical violence from an intimate partner.

According to the Government, children affected by domestic abuse in their early years are four times more likely to experience or perpetrate domestic abuse later in life.

‘It is heart-breaking to think that all too often children are unwittingly caught up in the effects of domestic abuse and for some, the mental scars of such early exposure will significantly impact on their lives,’ said minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability Victoria Atkins.

‘However, we can intervene early to give these young people a lifeline and organisations are already providing services, which this government will help support through the fund we are opening today.’

Almudena Lara, NSPCC head of policy, commented: ‘The NSPCC receives thousands of contacts every year about frightened children living with domestic abuse across the country, and we know that it can cause serious harm to children’s emotional and physical wellbeing.

‘We want all children, and their parents, who have suffered domestic abuse to have access to the right services to help keep them safe and recover from these traumatic experiences.’