Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of funding available to specialist by and for violence against women and girls organisations.

We recognise the vital role of specialist and ‘by and for’ services in providing the tailored support that victims and survivors of VAWG need to recover and rebuild their lives. That’s why in May 2025 we announced a £19.9m investment to provide vital support to victims of VAWG, increase awareness of VAWG and fund projects across the country aimed at preventing these horrific crimes. This includes:

• Over £6 million for national helplines supporting victims of VAWG, including over £1.5m for helplines for LGBT+ victims and Deaf victims delivered by ‘by and for’ organisations.
• £2.4 million for financial and wraparound support to help those with no recourse to public funds delivered by Southall Black Sisters, a ‘by and for’ organisation.
• £1.96 million for the Flexible Fund, which provides financial support to domestic abuse victims via a consortium of over 470 frontline services, including by-and-for organisations.

The Home Office continues work on improving the commissioning of ‘by and for’ services at the local level to help stabilise and strengthen the sector.