Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether central government funding for telephone helplines tackling violence against women and girls will be renewed before May 2015.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a key priority for this government, and ring-fenced funding of £40million is a critical part of our VAWG strategy and action plans. Of this ring-fenced funding, over £900,000 per
year has been provided to support the following free phone national helplines: the National Stalking Helpline run by Suzy Lamplugh Trust; the National Domestic Violence Helpline run jointly by Women's Aid and Refuge; Broken
Rainbow, who offer help to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims; the Male Advice(and Enquiry)Line and the RESPECT helpline.

We are currently giving careful consideration to future funding options and a decision will be announced in coming weeks.