We will seek policy which legislates for fair, collaborative commissioning practices across domestic abuse services, which can meet the diversity of need in communities. Many domestic abuse organisations, across all kinds of services, are largely or wholly funded by contracts with national or local authorities, making them especially vulnerable to changes in commissioning and procurement practice. It is essential that a diverse range of organisations, of all sizes and types, can contribute their expertise to create a strong ecosystem of tailored services and enable the CCR model to thrive.

By-and-for services and smaller local organisations may have a long history of delivering support and have trusted relationships with communities who are often harder to engage. The significant resource required to bid for and report on a government contract often excludes exactly the organisations whose expertise we most urgently need to retain. Where government asks agencies to collaborate more effectively, we support calls for this to be reflected in commissioning and procurement policy to create an environment which enables true multi-agency partnerships to be funded, built and maintained.