Since 2025 NHS England has offered the Office of Police and Crime Commissioners’ (OPCC) the opportunity to apply for non-recurrent funding.
This is to enable specialist sexual assault services to deliver specialist support that aligns with their Sexual Assault and Abuse StrategY.
Feedback from specialist sexual violence services in Cleveland shows a significant year-on-year increase in demand for specialist counselling.
As a result, waiting lists have grown and victim/survivors are now facing longer delays before they can access specialist counselling support.
A business case was submitted to NHS England by the OPCC to support additional capacity for specialist sexual abuse and violence counselling. This was in order to reduce waiting times for those awaiting this provision.
In January 2026, the OPCC was awarded £91,167.34 from NHS England to give to Arch Teesside for sexual abuse and violence counselling. Of the total, £17,233 will be awarded during 2025/26 and with a further £73,934.34 awarded during 2026/27.
Increasing the capacity of sexual abuse and violence counselling across Cleveland directly supports the Police and Crime Plan 2024-29 priority to improve safety for women and girls and to ensure the right support for victims and vulnerable people.
DRF 2025-26 – 032: NHS England SV Counselling Funding (application, 142kB)