Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to The Concordat on Women in or at risk of contact with the Criminal Justice System, published on 23 January 2021, what estimate he has made of the average start-up costs of a Whole System Approach.

There is no single model for a Whole System Approach as the most effective will reflect local needs and circumstances. Costs will differ between local areas depending on the model adopted.

Previously, the Ministry of Justice has provided seed funding to promote development of Whole Systems Approaches in several local areas. This illustrates the level of funding that can be useful for start-up purposes. In 2016, the Ministry of Justice provided seed funding totalling £200,000 for five areas (Greater Manchester, Norfolk, Surrey, Sussex and Wales) to develop whole system approaches for women in or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system. This investment helped secure a further £325,000 from local agencies to support projects, as well as supporting Manchester’s women’s centres to successfully apply for funding from the Big Lottery and Tampon Tax Funds.

In 2017, the Ministry of Justice announced six successful bidders who had applied for further £800,000 multi-year funding. The money was available to develop or continue to develop whole system approaches and was awarded to Lancashire, West Mercia, Norfolk, Sussex, Surrey and Devon. Four of these grants were paid over 3 years, ending in March 2020, and two were for one year.

One of the aims of publishing the Concordat, which sets out strong support for the whole system approach, is that it will promote further interest and take up locally.