Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Deferred
Establish a national ringfenced funding pot for 'by and for' services with standardised bidding
Recommendation
We recommend the establishment of a national ringfenced pot of money for ‘by and for’ services. This pot should be designed so ‘by and for’ services apply for funding using a standardised bidding process to minimise the administrative burden. (Recommendation, Paragraph 37)
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the barriers for 'by and for' services and is considering a standardised bidding process, but deferred a decision on establishing a new national ringfenced funding pot until after the ongoing Spending Review.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
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. We recognise the barriers ‘by and for’ specialist services can face during the bidding process. The Home Office is working across government departments to review current definitions of ‘by and for’ and identify opportunities to improve the commissioning of these services, including considering a standardised bidding process. We will continue to engage with other government departments to maintain a comprehensive picture of the funding provision for victims of VAWG. This includes the Ministry of Justice as the lead department for victims policy and victims funding via PCCs. The Ministry of Justice decided to protect VAWG victims spending in the department by maintaining 2024–25 funding levels for sexual violence and domestic abuse support this year. This means that for 2025–26, the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund grant will be maintained at its current level. To increase funding flexibility, MoJ is amalgamating the existing ringfences—community-based sexual violence and domestic abuse support services, and ISVAs and IDVAs—into one ringfenced funding stream, to allow for better local prioritisation. As set out earlier, we cannot provide details on future funding, including the ringfencing of ‘by and for’ services, due to the ongoing departmental budget allocation post Spending Review, but departments will set out further details in due course.