Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the £8 million spending increase for sexual assault referral centres set out in the Victims' Strategy, published in September 2018, Cm. 9700, will come from existing budgets.

The Victims Strategy sets out commitments to ensure that victims of crime, including victims of sexual abuse, have access to the support services they need to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime.

Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and commissioning responsibility is delegated to NHS England. The £8 million spending increase for SARCs set out in the Strategy is additional funding on top of the £31 million existing budget.