Violence Against Women and Girls: Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of Services Minutes: April 2023

Attendees and apologies

Chair:

Lesley Irving

AG Attendees:

Dr Claire Houghton 

Malcolm Chisholm 

Mukami McCrum 

Professor Philomena De Lima

Professor Angela O’Hagan

Katie Cosgrove

Secretariat Attendees:

Jane McAteer

Rhona Gowans

Apologies:

Katie Kelly

Items and actions

Welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, followed by a review of the minutes from the previous meeting. The advisory group (AG) accepted these as an accurate record of Meeting 10.

Actions:

• Secretariat to upload minutes to the review’s webpage.

Chair update

The Chair updated the group on the progress toward the publication of the Review’s report by: providing an overview of the drafting schedule; sharing details of the short film which the Review has commissioned, and plans for the Review’s launch event to mark the publication of the Report.

The Chair highlighted the ongoing ministerial changes following the new First Minister being officially sworn in to office and advised the group that responsibility and oversight for some portfolios is still to be confirmed.

Signing off the report

The Chair thanked the AG for their ongoing contributions to the draft of the report and spotlighted key areas which required further appraisal and amendment, inviting comments and suggestions. The group had an in-depth discussion on each of the areas identified for review. The smaller amendments related to the structure of the report and section headings were signed off and the Chair and the AG agreed upon allocation of responsibility for re-drafting the specific sections, based on the expertise of each member. An AG member flagged the need to ensure synergy with other key policies and the group discussed and agreed upon a method of doing so. The group also considered how to ensure consistency of tone and language throughout the report.

The meeting ended early due to the building being evacuated.

Agenda for next meeting

The group confirmed the timings of the next AG meeting in May as 09:30-11:30 and taking place online. The venue for the June AG meeting will be confirmed at a later date.

Any other business

N/A