Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help protect funding streams for specialist domestic abuse services.

Supporting victims and witnesses remains a priority focus for the Department and ministers. Collectively we are committed to the Government’s pledge to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade.

As such, I have decided to protect VAWG victims’ spending in the Department by maintaining the same levels of funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence support for the next financial year (2025/26). Furthermore, in addition to providing a ‘core’ grant for services to support victims of all crime, I am providing ringfenced funding for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission domestic abuse and sexual violence support services, according to local need.