The Government is committed to ensuring victims of sexual abuse feel that they can come forward to report abuse, and that they can get the support they need, whether they are a child or an adult. That is why we provide grant funding for victim support services across the country, which victims can access throughout their lifetime.

The nature of this funding has evolved over time to reflect changes in demand and the changing nature of crime; hence we are unable to provide a consistent breakdown of funding since 2010.

Since 2016/17, the Ministry of Justice have provided around £7m per year of ring-fenced funding specifically for provision of support to victims of recent and non-recent child sexual abuse (CSA). In 2018/19, this included £4.7m provided to the Police and Crime Commissioners to locally commission or deliver such services, £1.74m allocated directly to rape support centres and £0.58m allocated to a fund maintained by the Home Office for national and regional organisations supporting victims of recent and non-recent CSA. This funding is not age-restricted; hence we are unable to provide information around how much has been allocated to support individuals under 13.

Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse are also supported by the NHS England-funded Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), which are open to all victims of sexual violence regardless of age and provide a range of services including crisis worker support and psychological therapy sessions to address any of victims’ immediate needs. This funding has increased significantly from £23m in 2016/17 to £35m in 2019/20, and supports work to improve the therapy offer for both children and adults.

In 2019/20 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority will receive £41.8 million in core spending power, an increase of 2.2 percent compared with 2018/19. Details of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority Spending Power and the contribution from Formula Grant or Settlement Funding Assessment since 2010 can be found online at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090506010526/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0910/grant.htm

Since 2010 there have been changes to the finance and function of local government, therefore spending power, Formula Grant and Settlement Funding Assessment are not directly comparable over this period.

The Home Office published the latest statistics on incidents attended by fire and rescue services in 2017/18 on 9 May 2019, which lists the number of fire incidents, rescues and total incidents firefighters in Nottinghamshire have attended in each year since 2010/11. The number of fires, rescue incidents, flood incidents and other emergency incidents attended by Nottinghamshire FRS in each year are shown in the table below:

¹ Includes rescue or evacuation from water, lift release, other rescue / release of persons

² Includes all other non-fire incidents and fire false alarms

Alongside the post-implementation review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO), we published the Legal Support Action Plan which outlines the steps the Government will be taking over the next two years to enhance the breadth of support to people experiencing legal problems.

We are funding a number of changes to legal aid, including; improving the exceptional case funding scheme, removing the mandatory element of the CLA telephone gateway and expanding the scope of legal aid to include Special Guardianship Orders in private family law.

Alongside this, we are delivering £5m in innovation funding to drive change across the sector and doubling our funding to support litigants in person to £3m for each of the next two years. We will be funding a series of pilots to build a robust evidence base, testing methods of delivering support to make sure that people can access the right type of support at the right time, in the right way for them.

The outcomes and evidence base that we will build up through the projects announced in the Legal Support Action Plan will inform future decisions on how we deliver that support.

The Litigants in Person Support Strategy (LIPSS) works with a range of partners across the advice, voluntary and pro bono sectors to provide information and practical support for litigants in person. This includes providing online and self-help resources, as well as access to free or affordable legal advice and representation, where possible. It does not provide funding to litigants in person directly.

The Ministry of Justice is continuing to work with the LIPSS to ensure the additional funding committed to in the Legal Support Action Plan supports as many litigants in person as possible. Since 2014-15, the Ministry of Justice has invested more than £6 million of funding to support litigants in person in the civil and family courts through the LIPSS. An initial investment of £414,535 was provided in 2014-15 for the launch of the LIPSS, and since then has maintained funding at £1.45 million per financial year. As outlined in the Legal Support Action Plan, this funding will be doubled to £3 million per annum for the next two years.

The Ministry of Justice is working with HM Treasury to ensure the funding committed through the Legal Support Action plan is a priority for the Department.

The Litigants in Person Support Strategy (LIPSS) works with a range of partners across the advice, voluntary and pro bono sectors to provide information and practical support for litigants in person. This includes providing online and self-help resources, as well as access to free or affordable legal advice and representation, where possible. It does not provide funding to litigants in person directly.

The Ministry of Justice is continuing to work with the LIPSS to ensure the additional funding committed to in the Legal Support Action Plan supports as many litigants in person as possible. Since 2014-15, the Ministry of Justice has invested more than £6 million of funding to support litigants in person in the civil and family courts through the LIPSS. An initial investment of £414,535 was provided in 2014-15 for the launch of the LIPSS, and since then has maintained funding at £1.45 million per financial year. As outlined in the Legal Support Action Plan, this funding will be doubled to £3 million per annum for the next two years.

The Ministry of Justice is working with HM Treasury to ensure the funding committed through the Legal Support Action plan is a priority for the Department.

The Litigants in Person Support Strategy (LIPSS) works with a range of partners across the advice, voluntary and pro bono sectors to provide information and practical support for litigants in person. This includes providing online and self-help resources, as well as access to free or affordable legal advice and representation, where possible. It does not provide funding to litigants in person directly.

The Ministry of Justice is continuing to work with the LIPSS to ensure the additional funding committed to in the Legal Support Action Plan supports as many litigants in person as possible. Since 2014-15, the Ministry of Justice has invested more than £6 million of funding to support litigants in person in the civil and family courts through the LIPSS. An initial investment of £414,535 was provided in 2014-15 for the launch of the LIPSS, and since then has maintained funding at £1.45 million per financial year. As outlined in the Legal Support Action Plan, this funding will be doubled to £3 million per annum for the next two years.

The Ministry of Justice is working with HM Treasury to ensure the funding committed through the Legal Support Action plan is a priority for the Department.

The Litigants in Person Support Strategy (LIPSS) works with a range of partners across the advice, voluntary and pro bono sectors to provide information and practical support for litigants in person. This includes providing online and self-help resources, as well as access to free or affordable legal advice and representation, where possible. It does not provide funding to litigants in person directly.

The Ministry of Justice is continuing to work with the LIPSS to ensure the additional funding committed to in the Legal Support Action Plan supports as many litigants in person as possible. Since 2014-15, the Ministry of Justice has invested more than £6 million of funding to support litigants in person in the civil and family courts through the LIPSS. An initial investment of £414,535 was provided in 2014-15 for the launch of the LIPSS, and since then has maintained funding at £1.45 million per financial year. As outlined in the Legal Support Action Plan, this funding will be doubled to £3 million per annum for the next two years.

The Ministry of Justice is working with HM Treasury to ensure the funding committed through the Legal Support Action plan is a priority for the Department.

This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping, which is why we have now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle it over the spending review period, including the £75 million Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI). We are particularly encouraged that across the 83 RSI areas rough sleeping numbers have fallen by almost a fifth. In its first year, councils have used the investment to create an additional 1,750 beds and provide 500 rough sleeping support staff – this means there are more people in warm beds tonight as a direct result of government funding.

(i) homelessness core funding started in 2013/14 and (ii) flexible homelessness support grant commenced in 2017/18.

The record we hold shows Ashfield and Broxtowe has received the funding below:

Details of flexible homelessness support grant can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexible-homelessness-support-grant-2019-to-2020.

Details of homelessness core funding can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-visible-lines-of-funding-2019-to-2020.

Local authorities, including both Ashfield District Council and Broxtowe Borough Council, receive funding to prevent and relieve homelessness from my Department. This includes preventing homelessness core funding and flexible homelessness support grant funding. However, we do not operate a fund called the Homelessness Relief Fund and are therefore unable to provide the specific information you request.

Local authorities are legally required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable them to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, by up to £6,000, in their base budgets.

When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. Whilst many pupils who are in receipt of this top-up funding do have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, it is not a requirement for them to have one; nor is there a requirement that every pupil with an EHC plan should receive top-up funding. The allocation of this top-up funding is a matter between the local authority and the school, and the department does not collect information on when schools are allocated funding by local authorities.

Local authorities are legally required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, up to £6,000. Local authorities must set a notional SEN budget for every school in their area as part of their local schools formula, funded from the overall schools budget, although this funding is not ring-fenced and it remains the responsibility of each school to manage its overall budget, and ensure that the needs of all its pupils are being met.

When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. On 17 December 2018, we announced an addition of £250 million in high needs funding across the current financial year and the next, on top of the additional funding we had already promised. As a result, Nottinghamshire will receive an additional £1.7 million of this funding in each year, bringing their high needs funding total to £66.5 million in 2019-20.

The figures for the last three years are illustrated below.

​The department does not hold data that breaks down take-up of the childcare entitlements by disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged households.

Disadvantaged 2 year olds are eligible for 15 hours a week (over 38 weeks of the year) of free early education if they meet the criteria set out at: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds?step-by-step-nav=f237ec8e-e82c-4ffa-8fba-2a88a739783b. As of January 2018, there were 2,080 2 year olds accessing this entitlement in Nottinghamshire, 72% of those eligible which is in line with the national average for take up of this entitlement.

All 3 and 4 year olds are also eligible for 15 hours a week (over 38 weeks of the year) of free early education. As of January 2018, 9,060 3 year olds in Nottinghamshire were accessing the universal offer. This is 100% of 3 year olds and higher than the national average for 3 year old take-up, which is 92%.

​Since September 2017, working parents of 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 30 hours free childcare a week (over 38 weeks of the year), supporting a wide-range of parents to enter work or increase their work hours. In the first year of delivery, over 340,000 children in England benefited from a 30 hours childcare place, with over 6185 children accessing this entitlement in Nottinghamshire.

Figures on public sector expenditure at a regional level are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics.

The latest CRA statistics, published by HM Treasury in November 2017, present data up to 2016-17 and are published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-analysis.

The statistics include spend on transport by all public sector organisations including the Department for Transport, Local Authorities, Public Corporations (in the case of transport, this is mainly spend by London Underground) and other Government Departments including devolved administrations.

When assessing expenditure across regions it is important to compare like with like. The benefits from spend on transport interventions often accrue to people far beyond the residents of the immediate local area or region. This is particularly the case for spending on the railways which connect cities and regions across the country and deliver broader benefits beyond the region concerned. Furthermore, when expenditure is presented on a “per head of population”(or “per capita”) basis, it does not account for the pressure that large numbers of commuters and visitors from outside a region can add to the transport networks. In addition, larger built-up areas tend to make greater use of mass public transport systems, though these will generate fares income which contributes to their operating costs.

Statistics for public sector capital expenditure by region are given in Table 1 below. Table 2 provides the equivalent statistics per capita. Capital expenditure has been used as a proxy for spending on infrastructure specifically.

Table 1: Capital spending on all transport, by all public sector bodies

£millions nominal

¹Due to the reclassification of Network Rail into the public sector from 2015-16, care should be taken when making historical comparisons.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2017

Table 2: Capital spending, on all transport, by all public sector bodies, per capita

£s nominal

¹Due to the reclassification of Network Rail into the public sector from 2015-16, care should be taken when making historical comparisons.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2017

For future years, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s (IPA) National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline (NCIP) 2017 shows regional transport spend. Analysis of the NCIP shows that central government transport investment is more balanced across regions than previous reports have suggested. The table below sets out the allocation of central government transport capital spending in the pipeline between 2017/18 and 2020/21, per head and across regions ^[1]

^[1] As this table only looks at transport capital spending funded by central government, TfL expenditure is excluded. TfL’s capital programme is funded by a mixture of locally-retained business rates and fare receipts from TfL-operated services, and from 2017/18 onwards it receives no direct central government funding. However, DfT does directly fund major transport projects across London, such as Crossrail, and Thameslink

^[1] As this table only looks at transport capital spending funded by central government, TfL expenditure is excluded. TfL’s capital programme is funded by a mixture of locally-retained business rates and fare receipts from TfL-operated services, and from 2017/18 onwards it receives no direct central government funding. However, DfT does directly fund major transport projects across London, such as Crossrail, and Thameslink

The £8 million comes from existing budgets. £20 million was allocated to victims of domestic abuse in the Spring Budget 2017, of which £8million was allocated to children affected by domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime that nobody should have to suffer. The Government is committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse. In the 2015 Spending Review, my Department secured £40 million to support victims of domestic abuse. Funding for the 2018-20 £18.8 million fund for accommodation-based domestic abuse services comes from this £40 million. The fund was open to all local authorities across England to bid for a share and we will be announcing the successful projects in due course.

Our 2016-18 £20 million fund was also delivered with Spending Review 2015 funding. This supported 80 projects across 258 local authorities in England, helping to create more than 2,000 bed spaces in safe accommodation, including refuge, and giving support to over 19,000 victims and their families.

The Victims Strategy sets out commitments to ensure that victims of crime, including victims of sexual abuse, have access to the support services they need to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime.

Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and commissioning responsibility is delegated to NHS England. The £8 million spending increase for SARCs set out in the Strategy is additional funding on top of the £31 million existing budget.

The Ministry of Justice expects to spend up to £460,000 running the Witness Intermediary Scheme in 2018/19, which includes the cost of recruitment and training. The cost of individual cases is born by the end user (e.g. the police or CPS).

The Victims Strategy brings together, for the first time, funding which Government and agencies spend on supporting victims of crime, which is roughly £200 million a year. The strategy sets out existing commitments to increase funding for victims of approximately £37 million. We have also committed to ensuring that funding is better coordinated and goes to the right place at the right time.

The Victims Strategy brings together, for the first time, funding which Government and agencies spend on supporting victims of crime, which is roughly £200 million a year. The strategy sets out existing commitments to increase funding for victims of approximately £37 million. We have also committed to ensuring that funding is better coordinated and goes to the right place at the right time.

Mediation can help reduce conflict, by avoiding potentially contentious court proceedings which can be harmful to children and affect their long-term outcomes. The potential benefits of early resolution of family disputes, including through mediation, are therefore long term, wide ranging and potentially affect a number of government services. The evidence necessary to establish these system wide impacts, and therefore estimate any savings generated, is not currently available.

I am clear that the Government remains committed to supporting mediation for separating couples. Where it is safe and appropriate, mediation is an effective way of resolving disputes about finances and children. We are working to improve information and signposting to raise awareness of mediation and to encourage more separating couples to try it.