Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether more funding for women’s centres could be achieved by a cross departmental fund; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce such a fund.

The Government understands the vital role that women’s centres play in supporting women in the community with complex needs to address the underlying causes of their offending behaviour, which the report, the Value of Women’s Centres’, sets out. The MoJ is investing up to £24 million in women’s community services through grant competitions that aim to both support the sector in delivering vital services and to promote better local integration in how those services are delivered. The effectiveness of our funding for women’s community services will be evaluated and inform future funding decisions, including whether to establish a cross departmental fund.

It also remains our intention to publish a Delivery Plan for the Female Offender Strategy in the coming months. The Delivery Plan will be accompanied by an Impact Assessment that will include an estimate of the number of women that could be supported through women’s services as a result of our funding, based on the number of interventions that could be provided.