Victim Support Schemes: Coronavirus

(asked on 21st October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support the welfare of victim support staff during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Alex Chalk Portrait
Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
This question was answered on 29th October 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in demand for victim support services, resulting in increased pressure on victim support staff. We recognise the impact the continued delivery of critical support has on providers. The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring victims of crime, and the organisations that work with them, receive the support they need during this challenging time. We continue to work across government and in partnership with key stakeholders, including through the Covid-19 Victim and Witness Silver Command Group, which allows us to remain alert, and respond quickly to emerging issues and risks that support services raise including those related to staff wellbeing and resilience.

We have now distributed £22 million emergency Covid-19 funding, benefiting more than 540 charities. An additional £600,000 funding was reallocated by the Ministry of Justice to assist victim support helpline services. Following the Prime Minister's Hidden Harms Summit, the government also committed to developing a Victim Funding Strategy, which aims to place the support sector on a more sustainable footing and ensure victim support staff are able to deliver their vital work.

Much of the emergency funding has been used to provide additional support for staff. For example, for sexual violence and domestic abuse services, investment has been made in increasing IT infrastructure to allow staff to provide support remotely, providing extra clinical and safeguarding support to maintain staff welfare, and funding extra PPE equipment and deep cleaning costs for organisations returning to face-to-face support.

We have also invested in providing support and networking sessions to support Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) through this period of change, so that they can continue to help victims feel informed and supported at every stage of their recovery journey.

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