Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted
Committee reviewed evidence from key organisations on tackling violence against women and girls.
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG).1 We also took evidence from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs DBE; the Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Aid, Farah Nazeer and the independent advisor to government on criminal justice responses to sexual violence, Professor Katrin Hohl.
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented through robust governance and accountability structures set up under the Safer Streets Mission, including a dedicated VAWG Ministerial Group and Mission Board. It has also accepted the NAO recommendation to establish a cross-Whitehall team to monitor VAWG commitments and is developing options for this joint team.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with this recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Home Office has set up robust governance and accountability through the Safer Streets Mission. Governance for the Mission includes a dedicated violence against women and girls (VAWG) Ministerial Group, co-chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and VAWG and the Minister for Victims and VAWG, to inform and oversee the development of the VAWG Strategy. This Group has been instrumental in establishing a truly cross-government vision and approach and in defining the departmental commitments and contributions. Following the publication of the Strategy, the Home Office will shift to a delivery focus: tracking progress, holding government departments to account on delivery of commitments, reviewing new and emerging evidence on what works, and informing future policy decisions. This Ministerial Group will report into the Safer Streets Mission Board, chaired by the Home Secretary and attended by Secretaries of State, to ensure government is on track to meeting Safer Streets Mission objectives. The escalation route developed by these two boards demonstrates that the Home Office is taking a new approach to ensuring cohesion in its policy development and delivery. The Safer Streets Mission Board in turn reports into the Prime Minister’s regular Mission Stocktake meetings. These stocktakes have coordinated government action on VAWG and will continue to be critical to holding government departments to account on delivery. The Home Office has also accepted the NAO recommendation to establish a cross- Whitehall team to monitor the delivery of VAWG commitments. The Home Office is developing options for this joint team to align with the delivery phase of the upcoming VAWG Strategy.