Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) independent domestic violence advisers and (b) independent sexual violence advisers operating in the criminal justice system in each year since 2010-11.

Karen Bradley

The previous Government ring-fenced nearly £40 million – £10 million per year – of stable funding up until 2015 for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services, rape crisis centres, the national domestic violence helplines and stalking helpline. This funding has been extended until April 2016 and includes part-funding for 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs).

The Home Office supports these roles through training and awareness-raising, including for the majority of IDVAs and ISVAs who are employed by local authorities and third sector organisations.

We recognise the importance of specialist support services and are working with voluntary sector partners and local commissioners to assess coverage and need for these specialist advisers.