We asked the Ministry why it had not had the support from others it had hoped for and how it could incentivise their support. It told us that the COVID-19 pandemic had changed priorities for a lot of departments, and this had slowed down progress on joined- up working. It acknowledged that the ‘grip across the whole picture was not as strong as it might have been’. It told us the new Women in the CJS and at risk of entering the CJS board (chaired by a Minister from the Ministry of Justice and made up of Ministers from partner departments and agencies) has reiterated support for the strategy’s objectives and is now looking at how things can be improved.37 Despite its recognition of the importance of joined-up working by local bodies, which it refers to as the ‘whole-system approach’, the only funding the Ministry has provided specifically to support the adoption of this approach was seed-funding for six areas and the last funding was for 2017–19.38 Meeting the needs of women from ethnic minorities