Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Deferred
Current value for money criteria for VAWG funding require urgent reassessment
Conclusion
We are concerned that current value for money criteria are skewing funding decisions in favour of larger providers who are better able to meet existing value for money assessments. There needs to be a reassessment of value for money criteria for funding in relation to VAWG. Services to tackle VAWG are not commercial services; this should be reflected in the balance between value for money and outcomes for service users. It should also be reflected in the balance between quantitative data and qualitative data. (Conclusion, Paragraph 25)
Government Response Summary
The government states that Spending Reviews are led by HMT and that future VAWG funding approaches will be informed by ongoing budget allocations. It defers to future evaluations and the new VAWG strategy for details, without committing to a specific reassessment of value for money criteria for VAWG services.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Spending Reviews are led and designed by HMT. As set out earlier, ringfences are an important tool in supporting specific policy priorities. However, the use of ringfences must be balanced against the need for departments to retain sufficient flexibility to allocate funding within their settlements and respond effectively to emerging issues, ensuring the best use of public resources. As we design and iterate our approach in ongoing budget allocations, this will inform how we shape future VAWG funding. It is only through evaluating existing and new government interventions that will we have the evidence to decide if ringfencing primary prevention policies will be more valuable in comparison to other types of VAWG interventions. The Home Office regularly reviews emerging evidence at both national and local levels to ensure its approach to tackling VAWG is based on the best available evidence. The evidence base on what works to tackle VAWG is limited, and it is important to recognise that an absence of evidence does not mean an intervention is not effective. It is therefore important to continue to fund a range of interventions and services, to test different approaches to tackling VAWG and to fill knowledge gaps. As set out earlier, the government will also seize ‘test-and-learn’ opportunities to design and trial small, innovative local solutions, exploring the potential for national implementation. Further details regarding the key role prevention plays in the government’s approach to halving VAWG in a decade will be set out in the new VAWG strategy. 13