Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action she is taking to help improve the availability of domestic abuse services in rural areas.

Every victim of violence against women and girls (VAWG), whether in a city or a rural village, should be able to access the help they need. In the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, we committed to reform how victim’s services are commissioned to ensure that support is consistent, delivers what victims and survivors need, and is fit for purpose. To support this transformation, we will deliver a new national commissioning statement to replace the current National Statement of Expectations and VAWG Commissioning Toolkit. This statement will provide clear definitions of ‘by-and-for' and specialist services, helping commissioners allocate funding more effectively and support local areas to tailor their provision to their local communities, including rural victims.

On 15th June, we launched two new competitions to shape the future delivery of helplines and advocacy services. These initiatives are designed to strengthen and expand access to vital support for victims of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) across England and Wales, ensuring help is available to victims in their time of greatest need, regardless of location. We will share further updates on the outcomes of these competitions in due course.

Last year, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) commenced a call for evidence across a network of rural stakeholders to inform our understanding of the availability of support services and effective practice to provide support in rural areas. This research will help to confront the disparities in the provision and inform our future work to address the disparities of provision.