Protective Orders Support Grant

Descriptions

The government provides grant funding to support survivors to apply for protective orders, which forms an important part of our ambition to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) within a decade. The Ministry of Justice currently fund this grant stream via an existing provider. Through this early market engagement, we wish to test the appetite and ability of other providers in the market to deliver it. Please note that providing feedback as part of this early engagement exercise does not constitute a formal application for this grant. In addition, this early engagement notice does not guarantee that the competition will go ahead. The MoJ invites interested organisations to complete a short questionnaire for the Protective Orders Support Service grant. This questionnaire will cover some elements of the grant, including potential grant period duration, and seek feedback on potential barriers organisations may have to applying so that these can be factored in to grant design. The MoJ wishes to flag that both individual applications as well as applications through consortia (two or more organisations coming together to apply for this grant) are welcomed. The current provider is FLOWS (Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors), a national service delivered by the RCJ Advice - Citizens Advice and Law Centre (RCJ Advice) in collaboration with Rights of Women. The grant to the current provider is due to end on 31st March 2026. The service will need to provide legal advice and assistance to victims and survivors of domestic abuse to apply for a protective order, primarily in the family court (Non-Molestation Orders, Occupation Orders and the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in areas where available). The legal support offered should be survivor-centered, and aim to empower individuals by giving them a clear understanding of their legal rights and options. The service will need to cover England and Wales, assisting all survivors, whether or not they are eligible for legal aid. In 2023-24, over 26,000 survivors engaged with the current services. The service will require provision of an online platform capable of supporting victims to complete a court application form and the accompanying witness statement required to apply for a protective order. Victims who are not legally aidable, or do not wish to engage with legal aid route, must receive guidance on their options and be put into a position to be able to submit a high-quality application to the court, with an option for it to be checked by a lawyer, where making such an application is the most appropriate course of action. Victims who are eligible for legal aid and wish to proceed with that route may be assisted by a legal aid lawyer, without having to relay their information twice. All victims should be able to access or be signposted to information on matters that may be relevant to them, but which lie outside of application for a protective order. The service will need to be provided free of charge to all victims. The current online platform serves an average of 22,000 users annually in applying for protective orders. Beyond providing direct legal assistance to victims, the service will also need to provide training and guidance to domestic abuse sector on protective orders and related family and criminal law, building capacity in the sector and supporting them to make appropriate referrals to the service. The service will need to establish its own infrastructure and networks with legal aid providers and other stakeholders as required, to enable a successful delivery. The current value of the existing grant is £800,000 pa. The MoJ would greatly value engagement on the grant through the completion of a short questionnaire, featured below. Please submit your response to our Commercial Lead by 4th August 17:00. Commercial Lead E-mail: Lucinda.carty@justice.gov.uk