Short-termism and fragmentation jeopardising target to halve VAWG, report warns
Short-term funding settlements and a fragmented approach to commissioning services is putting the Government’s target to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) at risk, a report by the Home Affairs Committee has warned.
It says inconsistent approaches to how VAWG is defined and data recorded has led to fragmented decision-making across central and local government. Short-term, bid-based procurement is further acting as a barrier to smaller providers which can be best placed to provide specialised services.
The Government has committed to halving VAWG within a decade. This will only be achieved if there is a greater focus on prevention, the report finds.
Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Dame Karen Bradley said: “Tackling VAWG, and supporting victims, requires a range of services that meet complex, sensitive and diverse needs. Yet the processes for commissioning those services are hard to navigate and time consuming.
“Big providers are best placed to deal with the bureaucracy and short-termism of the current system. But it’s often the smaller providers who are best placed to provide the specific type of support that stops people falling through the gaps.
“We’re calling for a new approach that recognises the unique contribution that smaller providers can make. We also want to see a more strategic approach that understands where all the different funding pots are working and where gaps remain.
“Ultimately VAWG services are there to deal with the consequences of behaviours that cannot be tolerated. If the Government is to truly address violence against women and girls it will need to deal with the root causes – this means investing in prevention and funding research into what works.”
The report says universities and the third sector should be commissioned to build the evidence base to underpin effective prevention strategies and programmes. This work should be supported by long-term, ringfenced funding.
Delivering comprehensive VAWG services will require significant improvement in cross-government coordination, it adds. This includes standardising the definitions of VAWG, aligning data collection, and mapping funding distribution.
Cross-departmental boards have been established, but questions remain over their impact, as well as the Home Office’s “capacity or imagination” to deliver the vital reform required to meet the target to halve VAWG in a decade.
Current approaches to determining value for money skew funding decisions in favour of larger providers. Greater emphasis should be placed on the impact of services on people’s lives, rather than simply numbers, the committee finds.
Long-term funding settlements are needed to support long-term planning, staff retention and service delivery. The committee calls for funding cycles to be increased to three-five years.
VAWG funding structures need to recognise the vital role that smaller providers can play in meeting the complex needs of victims and survivors. ‘By and for’ services – designed and delivered by and for marginalised communities – face particular barriers to funding.
The committee calls for ring-fenced funding and simplified application processes to ensure these much needed services are supported.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners joint leads for VAWG, Clare Moody and Matthew Scott, said: “We welcome the Home Affairs Committee report on the funding of VAWG services and echo many of their recommendations.
“As the report recognises, despite the rise in reported cases, funding has fallen and system-wide factors, including court backlogs, increased costs and the complexity of victim’s needs all contribute to increased challenges at a time when we are all focused on delivering the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.
“In giving evidence to the committee, we and other police and crime commissioners (PCCs) highlighted the 4.2 per cent cut in victims’ funding in 2025/26 which is already having an impact on victims’ services and support, and the pressing need to deliver longer term funding so that victims can access the support they need to cope and recover confidence in the system.
“We are committed to the Government’s ambitions to halve VAWG but agree a single definition must be agreed to deliver clarity. We also support greater transparency across government; it is critical that those in the sector can hold the government to account for delivering the VAWG strategy.
“PCCs have long been leading voices in calling for action on violence against women and girls, and we remain determined to drive the changes needed to support those affected and prevent further harm.”