Women's Services and Interventions Funding 2022-2025

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), (hereinafter called "the Authority") is inviting applicants to submit applications for for multi-year grants (for the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25) to support the delivery of the Government's priorities as set out in its Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan across England and Wales to see: -

• Fewer women entering the justice system and reoffending
• Fewer women serving short custodial sentences with a greater proportion managed successfully in the community
• Better conditions that support rehabilitation for women in custody
• Protecting the public through better outcomes for women on release.

The funding is available for women's community sector organisations that support women in or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system. Wherever "women" is used in the documentation concerning this funding it should be read as meaning "women in or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system".

The funding will be used for new/additional services or interventions to meet the needs of women. Your application for this Request for Proposal can only be used for this purpose and is not available for the delivery of contracted services through the Dynamic Framework.

The aim is to further develop the evidence base of what works to support women more effectively in or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system and testing the effectiveness of interventions.

While the exact shape and design of new services/interventions will be shaped by local needs, grant applications in this category will need to show how those applying plan to reach more women and/or provide new services. Examples of what would be in scope include:

• extending geographical reach through longer opening hours, outreach, or pop-up services particularly where there is sparse provision.
• Locating new staff in police stations and courts to signpost women into services and support to address needs underlying their offending behaviour at the earliest opportunity, increasing the chances for successful diversion.
• 24/7 supported residential accommodation e.g., "housing first" type approaches or offering a residential women's centre style alternative to custody for appropriate women.
• Supporting women into training and jobs through links with local colleges and employers.
• Bespoke provision for particularly vulnerable or marginalised women such as non-British nationals and ethnically diverse, neurodivergent or young women.

With reference to the "24/7 supported residential accommodation" example above, we are particularly interested in proposals offering residential provision specifically for women who would otherwise receive a short custodial sentence of up to a year and who are subject to a community sentence with a residency requirement to live at the provision. A residency requirement would mean the provision would be subject to Prisons and Probation Ombudsman independent investigations.