Issue details

GM PCC received notification from the Ministry of Justice of its 2025/26 budget to support victims of crime on 2nd December 2024. With 3 months remaining until the start of the next financial year, it is acknowledged that quick decisions around how the victim’s budget should be utilised for 2025/26 were required.

Over the past 18 months, there has been widescale anxiety within the victims of crime support sector due to the lack of clarity and confirmation of ongoing MoJ funding after 31st March 2025 following the end of a 3-year multi-year settlement. This has created a concern that vital support posts such as IDVAs/ISVA’s could start to vacate to seek job security without immediate confirmation that funding will continue.

In order to quickly alleviate this, it was felt that the victims Grant Funding Agreements of which have been in place since 2022 and cover a spectrum of different support posts, should be extended by 12 months. This would stabilise initial concerns within the sector and also allow GM to undertake its own strategic needs assessment to be in a stronger position to make informed commissioning decisions in 2026/27.

It was also deemed timely to collate the anticipated national insurance increase requirements from grant support providers. Other reasonable cost increases to these posts were considered, such as those relating to matching the Real Living Wage which the Mayor has committed to, and meeting other cost of living increases and general pay awards which haven’t been given over the 3-year lifecycle of the grant funding agreements. In many cases, CVS organisations were covering these shortfalls from their own limited resources.

Original allocation of the DA/SV Grant Funding Agreements

In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that nationally £147m of funding would be committed over a multi-year period until the end of 2024/25 for victim services.

As part of this funding, PCCs were required to submit an updated needs assessment in relation to domestic abuse and sexual violence support services. PCCs were required to undertake an expression of interest exercise and submit all bids to the MoJ for decision. However following submission of these there was a change in process and the MoJ confirmed allocation to PCCs based on the needs assessment.

The way that this funding was allocated is a local PCC decision, although all activity and the service provider were required to meet the necessary MoJ criteria, as set out in their original Police and Crime Commissioner Funding Allocation Guidance. This funding is ringfenced for DA and SV services