Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Josh Babarinde and Jess Phillips

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jess Phillips]

I very much look forward, no doubt, to coming to the right hon. Lady’s Committee to discuss the strategy on its publication. It is not for the Home Office to tell law enforcement exactly what the definition is in this regard—there are obviously definitions of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the law—but we will lay out clearly what we mean by “violence against women and girls”, and police operational matters will be corralled, like I say, by the new centre, which has had £13 million of investment to ensure that there is standardised practice across the country and we are all singing from the same hymn sheet.

[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

The Government are right to abolish the role of police and crime commissioner—the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for that for some time—but many victims’ organisations rely on the PCC core grant to fund initiatives that address violence against women. Will the Minister confirm that that cash will not be lost by those organisations, including mine in Eastbourne, and that they will retain it after the reform?

[Jess Phillips]

I can absolutely confirm that the part of the police and crime commissioners’ role that involves commissioning local victims’ services will be brought into the new system. It will not be that that money is gone from the centre; this is about how it will be given out. I cannot say for certain that all organisations that currently have that money will have it on the basis that they currently have it, because nobody could commit to that. That is the commissioner’s job. We look forward to the violence against women and girls strategy, because there will be a huge amount on victims’ commissioning in that.