The Victims’ Commissioner has urged the Chancellor to provide victim support services with an “urgent increase in funding” as charities and organisations face “mounting challenges”.

In a letter to Rachel Reeves, Baroness Helen Newlove says that a combination of funding reductions and the upcoming increase to employer National Insurance Contributions is creating an “existential funding crisis” for charities supporting those affected by crime.

“These crucial services ensure victims have the support they need to recover from crime and stay engaged in the pursuit of justice.

“Without this support, many victims might not last the distance, and many offenders may never face justice,” Newlove says.

The letter calls for an urgent uplift in funding for these services to be included in the next spending review this spring.

“I am therefore calling for these critical services to not only be protected from further cuts but to receive an urgent increase in funding,” she says.

“Funding these services is not just an investment in victims – it must be viewed as a cornerstone of the government’s ‘Safer Streets’ mission. This uplift is essential to enable these services to absorb the additional demands being placed on them.”

The letter includes evidence submitted by 23 individual charities and organisations to the commissioner, all of which said they were struggling to cope financially.

Of these organisations, 17 said that they will need to, or have begun to, make plans for job cuts, either through planned redundancies or by implementing recruitment freezes and not replacing departed staff, the letter adds.

Newlove says the financial situation has become "markedly more challenging” for these organisations, due to factors such as the employer NI Contributions uplift, and 2025/26’s funding settlement being awarded at the same rates as 2024/25.

“In real terms, this constitutes a funding cut, as the allocation does not account for the rising direct costs and inflation, which has risen by over 20 per cent cumulatively since 2020,” Newlove says.

“In some cases, this cumulative effect of rising costs and cuts in funding will force these services to close, as they will no longer be able to operate. I understand that this is already happening.”

According to the letter, the charity Victim Support has reported that the increased costs and budget cuts will amount to a loss of £3.5m in funding for next year – which equates to 84 full-time staff posts.

“This loss will greatly reduce the service they can provide, and they estimate it will result in 5,000 less victims receiving support,” Newlove says.

The letter adds that Rape Crisis England and Wales has reported that two of its member centres have been forced to close in the past six months and that nearly a thrid of Rape Crisis centre directors were concerned that their centres were at risk of closure due to insufficient funding.

“I urge the government to use the upcoming spending review as an opportunity to secure sustainable funding for victim support services,” Newlove says. “By investing in these services now, the government will ensure victims receive the support they need to recover, remain engaged in the justice system, and prevent future harm.”