Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Deferred
Increase transparency on cross-government VAWG work to build public confidence
Conclusion
Assessing the Home Office’s previous work, we are not convinced that it has the capacity or imagination to deliver on the Government’s target to halve VAWG in a decade. The Government needs to be more transparent about the work that cross-government groups are undertaking in order to build confidence and trust in the Government’s ability to work in a coherent way to tackle VAWG. (Conclusion, Paragraph 12)
Government Response Summary
The government declined to comment on the Home Office's capacity, and instead of addressing the need for transparency on cross-government group work, it explained how PCCs fund victim support and how VAWG funding decisions are made during the Spending Review.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Local authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and mayors are independent of government. We therefore do not offer comment on the first part of the recommendation. The Home Office does not collect granular data on Local Authority and PCC victims’ funding, which is distributed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Ministry of Justice respectively. However, we agree it is important that victims’ services are designed to meet national and local demand and need. The 42 PCCs in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice’s victim and witness budget to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support to meet that need. Each PCC’s approach to commissioning varies; tailored to meet the unique needs of their area, depending on availability of local provision, capability, and priorities. PCCs also have a responsibility under the terms of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (2011) to bring together community safety and criminal justice partners, to make sure local priorities are joined up. This local join-up will be further strengthened by the Duty to Collaborate provisions of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 which, once implemented, will ensure a more strategic approach to local commissioning in England for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and serious violence. It will require PCCs, local authorities, and integrated care boards to collaborate when commissioning and, as part of this, consult on, produce, and implement a joint local strategy and needs assessment which demonstrates how they are fulfilling this duty. Local authorities in England receive funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to support the delivery of their statutory duties under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. These duties are designed to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in safe accommodation. Since 2021, MHCLG has provided £667 million funding to date, including £160 million in 2025/26, a £30 million increase from last year. Under these duties, Tier One local authorities are required to establish a domestic abuse Local Partnership Board (LPB); assess the support needs of all victims in their area; prepare and publish a local strategy; commission support services to meet identified needs in safe accommodation; monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of local delivery; and report annually to MHCLG on progress. MHCLG’s statutory guidance (Domestic abuse support within safe accommodation – GOV.UK) makes clear that commissioning authorities should ensure that the process for commissioning does not exclude smaller voluntary organisations, including those that are run ‘by and for’ groups with particular protected characteristics. When commissioning services, commissioning authorities are encouraged to use the Home Office Violence against women and girls commissioning toolkit and to seek advice on the most appropriate commissioning route to achieve the intended outcomes and provide best value for money. Across central government, there is no single ‘pot’ of VAWG funding, but we are committed to a whole of government effort to tackle VAWG effectively. Through the Safer Streets Mission, we have worked closely with the Treasury and Departments to coordinate the approach to the spending review on VAWG and other Mission pillars. The Cluster approach, led by Cabinet and the HM Treasury, aimed to boost value-for-money in decision making and drive cross-departmental collaboration by recommending how to deliver Mission outcomes within departmental spending scenarios. This is to ensure that SR funding is prioritised for key VAWG manifesto commitments, and to protect at- risk spending lines in areas that are critical to delivering our VAWG commitments. Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 11th June, we are continuing to work through the details of government funding for tackling VAWG over the Spending Review period of 2026–2029. Further details on government funding on VAWG will be set out in due course. 2. Measuring outcomes of services