Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant the Answer of 29 March 2021 to Question 172053 on Gender Based Violence: Victim Support Schemes, and with reference to the Green Paper Transforming Public Procurement, if he will publish a White Paper containing criteria setting out when it is appropriate for grant funding to be used for specialist provision for Violence Against Women and Girls services and for procurement rules to not apply.

The government has no plans to legislate in this area and so will not publish a White Paper. The published Grants Functional Standard provides clear guidance, alongside Managing Public Money, on the use of grant funding, and is available to government departments and arm's length bodies. Decisions on the use of grants as a funding mechanism are carefully considered and informed by the purpose and expected outcomes of individual schemes.