Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Deferred
Publish minutes of cross-government groups tackling VAWG as soon as practicable
Recommendation
We recommend that minutes of cross-government groups that have been set up to tackle VAWG should be published as soon as practicable after their meetings. (Recommendation, Paragraph 13)
Government Response Summary
The government's response detailed the analytical work behind the VAWG strategy, performance metrics, and governance structures for implementation, but it did not address the recommendation to publish minutes of cross-government groups.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
As part of analytical work undertaken to support the development of the new VAWG strategy, the Home Office has conducted a review of existing data from across government and wider stakeholders. This enabled us to determine the best metrics to monitor progress and identify where new data collections are required. This directly informed the suite of metrics that comprises the Performance Framework to monitor the progress of our ambition to halve VAWG in a decade. Further details will be set out on this soon. A Theory of Change which sets out how the activities in the Strategy contribute towards halving VAWG, and an Evidence Review summarising existing evaluation evidence on what works to reduce VAWG and support victims will be published alongside the strategy. After the VAWG strategy is published, the government will shift focus onto implementation. Robust governance and accountability will be in place through the SSM. The Home Office and MoJ will use the SSM governance structure to oversee delivery of the policies in the Strategy, monitor performance against metrics and actively hold all departments to account on progress. The current evidence for what works to tackle VAWG is limited and where feasible we will undertake evaluations of new and existing initiatives and approaches over the course of their lifecycle. This will provide valuable insights into which policies are proving successful or where we require new interventions The government will also seize ‘test-and-learn’ opportunities to design and trial small, innovative local solutions, exploring the potential for national implementation. We want to take a holistic view – using performance monitoring alongside evaluation to assess effectiveness. A further audit is not needed and may duplicate analytical work that has already been conducted. The department will keep current evidence and available data under review as part of continually learning from what works.