Recommendation 18

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.