Mohammad Yasin MP

Words from

Mohammad Yasin, MP for Bedford and Kempston

In April, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) published the list of organisations it would fund to provide local services to support victims of crime in Bedfordshire 2022 – 2023.

The total amount to be awarded was £1,634,000. The areas covered: Domestic Violence £497,000, Counselling £20,000, Sexual Violence support, £90,000, Support for victims and witnesses of crime (not related to domestic abuse) £270,000 and Mental Health £70,000.

In December 2021, the Interim Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) asked for a review to be carried out of the process through which grant funding from the OPCC was awarded. As a result of that review, a “refined process” was developed in January 2022 and used in February 2022 to sift and assess applications for grant funding to be awarded for 2022/23.

Sadly, this new process resulted in axing funding for a brilliant charity that provides services to women suffering domestic violence (DV) in Bedford. Bedford Women’s Centre had received funding from the OPCC for the previous 4 years but didn’t score highly enough this time around, despite the service being more in demand than ever before, as DV rates soared during the pandemic.

Bedford Women’s Centre provides a vital service to women in my constituency who are victims of domestic violence by offering one-to-one mentoring, workshops and support groups for at least 12 weeks. The centre has had over 300 referrals a year for the last two years from women aged from 17-67. There is no other service in Bedford that offers the same programmes in a woman-only environment.

The loss of OPCC funding, with very little notice to look for alternative sources, almost put the centre in jeopardy. I’m grateful to Bedford Borough Council who have stepped in to save the DV service in the short-term by using emergency budgets to help with the gap from the loss of OPCC funding.

I’m pleased for the organisations that did receive funding but there is no service on the list that covers the work of Bedford Women’s Centre for women in this area. However, it is ironic that Bedford Women’s Centre lost its police funding in the same week the Home Secretary announced that Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) now has Strategic Policing Requirement status, meaning it takes the same priority as fighting terrorism, child sexual abuse and exploitation, and serious and organised crime.

I’m pleased that the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner is now undertaking a gap analysis of all services available to victims, beginning with victims of domestic violence and their families, and that he has agreed to meet me and the manager of Bedford Women’s Centre this month. If tackling VAWG is now a priority for police, it is vital we don’t lose this unique service for the women in Bedford.