Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published 31 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Critical Support Fund.

In 2021/22, the Ministry of Justice opened a £2.8 million national fund called the Critical Support Fund, available to support organisations via Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASAF) providers. The aim of the fund was to meet exceptional need for domestic abuse and sexual violence services due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. £1.5 million of this funding was allocated to community-based support, and £1.3 million was allocated to ISVA and IDVA roles on a 2-year basis.

Data on the impact of this fund and other grants to PCCs is collected through regular monitoring exercises, which allows us to see the number of referrals made and the number of victims supported. This data is analysed to help inform policy development and commissioning decisions, such as an increase in funding for ISVA and IDVA roles. However, this data is not currently publicly available.