As part of the violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy councils will receive a further £19m Good morning. The news will be dominated by two foreign stories today: the ongoing response to the Hanukah killings at Bondi beach, which we are covering on a live blog here, and the latest talks in Berlin tonight on peace proposals for Ukraine. Keir Starmer is a key partner in this process, and he will be flying to Germany to attend. But first he will have to spend 90 minutes at the Commons liaison committee taking questions, not on foreign policy, but instead mostly on “the Plan for Change: one year on”. These hearings normally don’t reveal as much as a lengthy interrogation of the PM on policy probably should, but there is shortage of complaints about the government’s record over the past year and there are plenty of interesting questions that could be asked. Ministers said the funding would help local authorities offer victims access to a “fresh start” on top of £480m already pledged over the next three years for support including refuges and sanctuary schemes. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is set to unveil sweeping reforms to the criminal justice system this week as part of government plans to halve Vawg, which it has declared a “national emergency”, within a decade. Continue reading...