Next Chapter's Statement on the Government's 2025 Spending Review

To put it bluntly, we’re deeply disappointed by the Government’s recent Spending Review, which fails to directly recognise the government’s manifesto commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within the next decade.

While we welcome their investment in social housing - recognising the critical role affordable housing plays in helping survivors recover and rebuild - and the previously announced funding for the justice system, including support for the Probation Service and additional resources for the Police, these investments in statutory services fall short without dedicated funding for the specialist victim services we provide every day.

Without this, the Government is failing to fully meet its commitment to keeping women and children safe.

As highlighted by Women’s Aid in their statement, despite the Government's original pledge, there was no explicit mention of violence against women and girls or targeted funding for specialist services in the Chancellor’s announcement.

This omission has real consequences. Services like ours; refuges, helplines, and outreach programmes are already under immense strain. We know this too well.  

Next Chapter echoes the calls for a clear funding plan. We urgently need:

• Multi-year investment in specialist VAWG services - especially those led by and for minoritised women - to ensure stability and cultural competence.

• Transparency and accountability: clear allocations, reporting, and benchmarks to track progress toward the manifesto goal.

• Cross-departmental engagement: commitments from departments like Education, Health, and Justice to align policies, early intervention, and prevention strategies.

• Support for specialist infrastructure: adequate resourcing for refuges, helplines, outreach, and prevention programmes to reduce wait times.

This Spending Review had the potential to be a turning point. Instead, it falls short, signalling a worrying gap between political promise and practical action. Next Chapter urges the Treasury and relevant departments to urgently address these omissions through additional funding announcements and transparent multi-year funding frameworks.

Women and girls deserve more than rhetoric - they deserve a funded plan that matches ambition – and promise.

Read the statement from our partners at Women’s Aid: Women’s Aid responds to the Spending Review which failed to acknowledge VAWG despite government manifesto pledge - Women’s Aid

‍