Steps to Safety starts in 12 NHS areas in England

If you tell a GP surgery about abuse, what happens next? According to the Department of Health and Social Care, a new programme called Steps to Safety is meant to make that next step clearer. The scheme is being rolled out in three phases, starting from April 2026, with the aim of national coverage in England by 2029. In simple terms, the plan is to help GP practices spot domestic abuse and sexual violence earlier, respond more safely, and connect people straight to local specialist services. The government first committed to the programme in Freedom from violence and abuse, its cross-government strategy published in December 2025.

One reason this matters is that many people speak to their GP before they speak to anyone else. In a participating practice, patients will be able to tell any member of staff about a current or past experience of domestic abuse or sexual violence. If the patient agrees, that disclosure can lead to a direct referral into specialist support. **What this means for you:** the referral is meant to be handled sensitively and with consent. The specialist worker then becomes a single point of contact, helping the patient speak to services and pushing for their needs to be taken seriously.

For GP surgeries, this is more than extra training. Each group of practices will have access to independent domestic abuse and sexual violence specialist workers, funded through the programme. Those workers are expected to train staff, offer ongoing support, receive referrals, help with safety planning and risk assessments, and arrange access to specialist services. **Quick guide:** the government shortens domestic abuse and sexual violence to DASV. The idea here is that surgery staff should get better at spotting warning signs, but the deeper support still sits with trained specialists rather than being left to reception teams, nurses or GPs alone.

The funding moves through integrated care boards, usually called ICBs. These are the NHS bodies that plan and commission services in local areas. Under Steps to Safety, participating ICBs will get targeted funding to commission independent DASV providers, cover training costs and secure specialist workers for GP practices. That detail matters because it shows who is responsible for what. The Department of Health and Social Care is setting the national direction, but local NHS leaders and specialist organisations will decide how the service is built and how smoothly referrals work in practice.

In September 2026, 12 ICB areas were selected for phase 1. Together, they are due up to £34,417,204 over three years, with £8,146,771 in 2026 to 2027, £13,042,264 in 2027 to 2028 and £13,228,169 in 2028 to 2029. According to the department, that money is meant to commission or expand local specialist services and strengthen the referral route between GP practices and support organisations. The first set of allocations includes Cheshire and Merseyside with up to £1,710,793, North East and North Cumbria with £4,684,560, Essex with £4,454,124, Norfolk and Suffolk with £2,807,628, Black Country with £1,064,767, and Birmingham and Solihull with £3,005,000.

The other phase 1 areas are Coventry and Warwickshire and Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which made a joint bid worth up to £6,672,213 across the pair. Surrey and Sussex is due £4,045,301, Kent and Medway £2,195,538, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire £3,054,962, and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly £722,318. If you do not live in one of those places, the important point is that the service is still in an early stage. England is not getting the same offer everywhere yet, and that means where you live may still shape how quickly you can be connected to specialist help through your GP.

To stop every area reinventing the wheel, the Department of Health and Social Care says it is working with NHS England on national support. That will include training and resources, chances for local areas to share what works, and targeted help for ICBs and specialist providers as services are set up. There will also be an independent national evaluation. In everyday language, that means the programme is supposed to be checked properly: not just whether money was spent, but how the service was delivered and what difference it made for victims and survivors.

Alongside Steps to Safety, the department is also putting £15 million into a victims and survivors support fund for all ICBs over three years. This money will be shared out in proportion to the average number of patients registered at GP practices between April and July 2026. ICBs are being asked to use it to improve support, ease pressure on onward evidence-based services and outreach work, and strengthen the capacity of local specialist providers. The wider aim is easy to spot. Ministers want GP surgeries to become a safer front door for people living with abuse, while specialist services remain the place for expert advocacy and longer-term help. The promise is significant, but the real test will be whether this first phase turns funding into reliable support before the national deadline of 2029.