Recommendation 64

HM Government Deferred

The Government welcomes the Committee’s recognition of the work we have supported through funding of Violence Reduction Units and trauma-informed practice (TIP). However, we would like to clarify some of the findings in the report. The Committee’s report implies that £17m was invested in TIP for frontline professionals, however this was only one of three types of interventions eligible for investment through the Early Intervention Fund and accounted for £2.6m. In 2021/22 the Home Office invested £17m into early intervention and prevention programmes, delivered via Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to support young people at high risk of involvement in serious violence. Of this, £2.6m went to seven VRUs to deliver trauma informed training to frontline workforces who support children, and young people at risk of involvement in serious violence. These projects trained over 14,000 frontline professionals from different sectors. Many VRUs continue to deliver TIP programmes, both directly to police as well as other frontline professionals. The Home Office also commissioned the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF – now ‘Foundations’) in 21/22 to carry out research into the TIP models VRUs implemented as there is currently limited research and evaluation of TIP.22 To help bridge this gap, the Home Office is also co-funding the Youth Endowment Fund’s (YEF) current TIP grant round. The aim of this grant is to find, fund and evaluate trauma informed practice programmes or approaches in England and Wales delivered in youth justice, education, and children’s social care services.23 While we recognise TIP is seen as a promising, innovative and increasingly popular approach, there is also limited robust evidence of its impact and a broad diversity of approaches in relation to its implementation. Therefore further pilots, research and evaluation should be carried out in order to better understand effectiveness and implementation before it is scaled up significantly. In regard to the Committee’s recommendation that the Home Office works with stakeholders to establish training and guidance on trauma-informed policing, the Home Office has shared insights and lessons learned from the delivery of its trauma-informed work with the College of Policing. The College of Policing is the professional body for policing in England and Wales. It was established in 2012 and it sets standards, provides training and shares good practice to reduce crime and keep people safe. The College provides quality assurance for all accredited training programmes delivered in forces which includes the initial entry training for all police officers. The College also regularly reviews the policing curriculum to ensure that it remains fit for purpose.