Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing the London Violence Reduction Unit with a multi-year funding settlement.

Independent evaluation has demonstrated that the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) programme has successfully reduced serious violence, preventing thousands of young people from being admitted to hospital for violent injuries across 20 police force areas in England and Wales, including London. The report flags statistically significant reductions in assaults by sharp object for under-25s, and assaults by any violence for under-25s and all ages. This equates to around 550 fewer sharp-object hospital admissions and 3,750 admissions for all types of violence among under-25-year-olds or 7,140 fewer admissions across all ages for all types of violence, since funding began in 2019

Recognising this impact, the 2026/27 Police Funding Settlement included an allocation of £66.6m for Serious Violence Reduction Programmes, including £10.5m for London VRU.

Officials are considering funding options for FY 27/28 and 28/29 for Serious Violence Reduction Programmes, including VRUs.