Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release, Government moves to provide reassurance to women and girls: 15 March 2021, what proportion of the £45 million allocated to the Safer Streets fund has already been (a) spent and (b) awarded to specific projects.

Recent tragic events have highlighted the importance of ensuring people are safe whilst walking our streets.

We have announced we are investing a further £25m into the Safer Streets Fund for the 2021/22 financial year, building on the £45m already committed between 2020 and 2022. This additional funding will look to deliver innovative and evidence-based crime prevention measures in public spaces, with a focus on ensuring women and girls feel safe when in the public domain.

£25m of the Fund has already been spent through the first round, launched in January 2020. The second £20m round of the Fund launched on 28 January 2021, with the bidding window closing on the 25 March; we will carefully consider all bids against defined criteria, before announcing successful areas. The criteria and application process for this second round will remain unchanged.

The additional ‘round 3’ £25m investment will be launched in May, once the pre-election period for local elections has ended, and will be available to both Police and Crime Commissioners and Local Authorities. The amount allocated to any geographical region will depend on the bids that are submitted.