Uplift funding available to support domestic abuse and sexual violence victims’ support services in Warwickshire

Organisations large and small providing domestic abuse or sexual violence support services across Warwickshire are being invited to make a bid for uplift funding by Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe.

A total of £153,706 has been allocated by the Ministry of Justice for schemes in Warwickshire as part of its ongoing additional funding for services supporting victims since the lockdown began. A total of £95,219 is allocated for domestic abuse services, with £58,487 allocated for sexual violence services.

The funding is to cover the period from 1^st April 2021 to 31^st March 2022 and is intended to help unmet needs in respect of:

• Advocacy services for adults and children
• Court Support
• Face to face or remote counselling
• Support for particular groups such as BAME/Disabled/LGBT/male victims

In addition the Ministry of Justice has opened a new national fund of £12m specifically designed to enhance Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) and Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA) capacity. The MoJ states:

‘The purpose of the Fund is to increase advocacy support for victims and survivors of sexual violence (SV) and domestic abuse (DA) across England and Wales, including children. While we expect this to focus predominantly on increasing the number of ISVAs and IDVAs across local areas to expand service capacity in response to the pandemic, we are also interested in receiving expressions of interest for innovative models of advocacy support for these groups of victims’.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe explained: “This is further welcome news from the government and builds on the emergency funding that has previously been allocated in these specialist areas due to pressures brought about by the pandemic.

“In addition, I will also very soon be issuing my own grant monies to assist in these areas. So the MoJ announcement comes as an additional boost and supplement.

“I know that this pandemic has thrown up extraordinary challenges to organisations working with victims.  Some have lost sources of funding as a result and all have had to meet the unexpected expense of changing the way they deliver their services. That’s why this additional Ministry of Justice funding is a very welcome opportunity for everybody.

“My office is in the process of contacting the organisations we already work with to make them aware of the funding opportunities but there may be others out there who could benefit that we simply don’t know about. Applications can come from organisations of any size, including small specialist organisations that support particular groups such as BAME, disabled, LGBT or male victims.

“I’d urge any organisation looking to make a bid to get in touch with my office without delay. The deadline for submitting an expression of interest to the new ISVA IDVA fund is Friday 26^th February 2021. The deadline for the uplift fund is Friday 12^th March 2021.

For full details of the funding criteria and how to apply, please contact Chris Lewis, the PCC’s Development and Policy Lead for Victims, by email at christopher.lewis@warwickshire.pnn.police.uk.