Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to allocate funding from Ofcom’s fines to platforms for failure to comply with the Online Safety Act 2023 to organisations working to end violence against women and girls.

Under the Online Safety Act, fines imposed by Ofcom are paid into the Consolidated Fund, in line with standard practice across its regulatory functions. This ensures funds are distributed in accordance with overall government priorities, which may include victim support services.

However, fines are intended to drive compliance, not to act as a funding stream. Their inherently unpredictable nature makes them unsuitable for directly supporting work on violence against women and girls or compensating victims.

Decisions on the use of such funds are for HM Treasury, while the Ministry of Justice retains primary responsibility for victim support and compensation policy in England and Wales.