Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment the Government has made of the ability of local commissioners to fulfil the aims of the National Statement of Expectations for Violence Against Women and Girls.

Through our Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy we have published a National Statement of Expectations (NSE) setting out a clear blueprint for local action. We consulted widely with commissioners, the voluntary and community sector and statutory stakeholders in the development of the NSE, which is based on existing best practice. The NSE will help promote better local collaboration and joint leadership, encourage new approaches incorporating early intervention, and establish and embed the best ways to help victims, survivors and their families.

To support local implementation we have published a Commissioning Toolkit, which provided practical advice and launched the £15 million VAWG Service Transformation fund, which will encourage better collaboration and new, joined-up approaches between local commissioners and specialist VAWG service providers. We are actively developing mechanisms for monitoring implementation of the NSE, working with commissioners and experts from the specialist VAWG sector, to ensure that local services across the country provide the best support for victims and survivors of VAWG.