Agenda item

At its meeting on 22 July 2020, the Board received an Interim report on the Council’s response to COVID-19 in respect of Community Safety. During that discussion, it was noted that the Domestic Abuse Bill currently going through the House of Commons would place new duties on the Council.  Accordingly, the Council’s preparedness for the Domestic Abuse Bill was added to the Board’s Work Programme.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for Health and Wellbeing introduced the Report and explained that the Domestic Abuse Bill was currently passing through the House of Lords. The first reading was on 7 July 2020 and the second reading was yet to be scheduled. The expectation was that Royal Assent would be given later in 2020 for the Bill to become Law in April 2021 and statutory duties to commence. 

The duties required Tier 1 local authorities to take leadership responsibilities for delivering the duties in partnership with Tier 2 local authorities to ensure safety and support for the whole family affected by domestic abuse. This included provision of accommodation and support for survivors of domestic abuse, work with perpetrators to help prevent domestic abuse and establishment of community champions to ensure that support is maintained in the community.

The Senior Practitioner for Public Health guided the Board through the presentation which had been included as part of the Agenda, this covered:

·       An overview of Domestic Abuse Bill

·       The local implementation guidance

·       The Local Partnership Board and governance

·       Current contracts

·       Needs Assessment

·       Commissioning strategy

·       Next steps

During the opportunity for questions, the following main points were made:

·       The legislation was long overdue but was welcomed

·       It would be important to ensure that there was joined up working between partners to ensure effective communication at all levels and the best outcomes for families

·       In response to a concern expressed about the appropriateness of emergency accommodation when it was needed, it was confirmed that funding was available for all adults over 16 years of age and was allocated on a population basis and was not linked to areas of deprivation

·       The Board heard about the Drive Project which, was a national pilot scheme aimed at reducing the number of child and adult victims of domestic abuse by deterring perpetrator behaviour. It focused on priority (high-risk or serial) perpetrators, as this group carried the greatest risk of serious harm and engaged poorly in available services.West Mercia (Worcestershire specifically) were a pilot area for this scheme

·       It was confirmed that the Domestic Abuse Bill would be a pathway for all types of domestic abuse

·       The importance of providing specific domestic abuse training to safeguarding leads in schools was discussed.  The Board also heard about Operation Encompass which, was a process whereby the police and county council would inform a member of school staff if a child or young person had experienced any domestic incident

·       A Member asked about how the drug, alcohol and substance misuse service was aligned with the domestic abuse services and it was confirmed that Cranstoun (the service provided for drugs, alcohol and substance misuse) also provided services for the Drive Project

·       In response to a question about what support was available for perpetrators and their families when they returned home following a prison sentence, it was agreed that the Board would be provided with further information

·       It was questioned how the demand for emergency accommodation affected the levels of demand for social housing.

The action agreed was:

·       The presentation would be shared with all district council colleagues

·       Information would be provided to the Board on the support available to families of perpetrators when they returned home following a prison sentence

·       A further report would be provided to the Board when funding streams were confirmed by government

·       A briefing on the Domestic Abuse Bill would be provided as part of the new Councillor Induction Programme following the May 2021 Elections.