Agenda item

The Domestic Abuse Team Manager presented the item to the Board, explaining that the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 had been passed and meant that Local Authorities now had a new statutory duty to provide specialist support for victims of domestic abuse in safe accommodation. The Council was required to:

·      assess the need for victims of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation services in their areas;

·      produce a strategy to detail how it would respond to the duty;

·      commission support to victims and children in safe accommodation

·      appoint a domestic abuse local partnership board for the purposes of providing advice to the authority about the exercise of the authority’s functions;

·      report back annually to central government that it had met these obligations.

Councillor Randhawa arrived at 5:52pm during consideration of this item.

The Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership (DASP) board, Sandwell’s statutory board, had now established a Task and Finish Group and the draft Safe Accommodation Needs Assessment had been completed.

The Safe Accommodation Strategy had been widely consulted on across the Council and DASP partners and was published on 25 October 2021 to comply with the statutory requirement.  The final Safe Accommodation Strategy was required for publication by 5 January 2022.  An implementation plan was being developed and would be regularly monitored by DASP.  The Council had also been allocated New Burdens Funding to support the delivery of the new safe accommodation duty and proposals being developed.

The Domestic Abuse Team Manager provided a definition of safe accommodation as defined in the statutory guidance as:

·      domestic abuse refuge accommodation;

·      specialist safe accommodation (i.e. dedicated specialist support to victims with relevant protected characteristics and/or complex needs);

·      dispersed accommodation (safe self-contained and semi-independent accommodation);

·      sanctuary schemes providing target hardening of properties along with specialist support and move-on and / or second stage accommodation.

A definition of specialist support for victims of domestic abuse as defined in the statutory guidance was also provided.  This included:

·      Advocacy support

·      Domestic abuse prevention advice

·      Specialist support for victims designed specifically for victims with relevant protected characteristics or with additional and / or complex needs

·      Children’s support

·      Housing-related support

·      Advice service

·      Counselling and therapy

It was explained that the above list was not exhaustive and other relevant support services could be put in place based on victims’ needs.

The needs assessment had been undertaken by Linxs Consultancy Limited and included data collection and analysis, analysis of current services and wide-ranging consultation programme which included survivor testimonies and stakeholder feedback.  The need assessment found that the safe accommodation system in Sandwell was highly effective.  A range of accommodation types and levels of support provided by Black Country Women’s Aid (BCWA) meant that survivors were routinely accepted regardless of the level of risk or complexity of presenting needs.  There was also good outcome tracking for those who were declined a space in accommodation.

The needs assessment also identified a number of gaps, as outlined in Appendix 1 of the report, which the strategy aimed to address.  Following analysis of these gaps, the strategy would be based around the below themes:-

1.    Improving the survivors’ recovery journey;

2.    Enhancing the ability for survivors to stay in their own home;

3.    Developing a more responsive and cohesive system

The Domestic Abuse Team Manager outlined the specific commitments to address the above 3 themes, this included: children’s support; psychologically informed interventions for adults and children in safe accommodation; dedicated sanctuary provision for adults and children; and the need for resettlement and floating support for victims and children leaving refuge.  It was proposed to address the additional needs identified by the needs assessment using the New Burdens funding and work was underway on proposals for this.

From the comments and questions raised by members of the

Scrutiny Board, the following responses were made, and issues

highlighted:-

-       The council had a list of registered housing and service providers who would be commissioned to provide the support.  The Council already had contracts with these providers.

-       Further training would be required by the commissioned providers to address victims’ additional needs

-       There were currently 38 Safe Accommodation properties which were provided by Black Country Women’s Aid (BCWA).  The Council had commissioned those spaces and BCWA had a further 3 additional spaces in the borough.

-       Part of the Council’s commitment to the strategy was to promote the support available to male victims of domestic abuse.  The service “Ask Marc” had also recently been launched across the Black Country.

-       Single sex accommodation was the norm and the Council had both 24 hour accommodation and dispersed accommodation provision.  Males were more likely to be housed in the dispersed accommodation.

-       There had been over 10,000 cases of domestic abuse in Sandwell in the last year.  It was highlighted that West Midlands Police had recently undertaken a review of the number of domestic abuse cases.  COVID had shone a light on domestic abuse but it was anticipated that it was unlikely that the figures would go down and reported cases were likely to increase.

-       Financial support and more general welfare advice were provided by BCWA. 

-       Since COVID, there had been an increase in demand for mental health support and support for victims of mental and financial abuse.

-       The 38 refuge spaces were full; there was constant demand and the spaces were almost always full.  Sandwell residents were given priority for these spaces.

-       People from all backgrounds were represented in refuges (ethnicity, disability, gender etc.) there were no barriers to access identified. The number of LGBTQ+ and Male victims was small.  The Police and Crime Commissioner had recently launched a service for these victims.

-       Victims who decided to go back home could be referred back to community-based services or could refer themselves.  BCWA offered sustainable support but it was an informed choice for victims when leaving a refuge.  The Director for Borough Economy explained that it could take a number of times for victims to get out of the cycle of abuse.  From victims’ testimonies, it took time to build up contacts and support to get separation.  Contact could not be forced onto people but BCWA kept their services readily available.  It was highlighted that wraparound support was key to breaking the cycle of abuse.

-       Anonymised data on the demographics of victims could be circulated to members of the board.

-       For those victims who had no recourse to public funds, support was not always possible but BCWA did try to maximise their support where they were able to do so.

-       It was highlighted that if a crime had been committed then it should be the perpetrator who was punished rather than the victim.  It was important to use the full force of the law and other agencies to ensure that victims could stay in their home.

-       Where victims were located was dependent on the makeup of the household; these conversations were initiated early on in the process.  For those victims in temporary accommodation outside the borough, moving locations was not as simple.  It was an improving picture for those victims, but an exact number could not be given.

-       Initially during COVID, victims couldn’t come forward to seek support, but reporting increased again after the first few weeks.  Of those reports, psychological and financial abuse had become more prevalent.

-       The Service Manager for Housing Management highlighted that it was reassuring that there wasn’t a shortage of accommodation or bed space during COVID, however opportunities needed to be maximised across the private rented sector.

-       It was explained that hidden abuse such as child-parent abuse and male abuse was an increasing concern and reports had been growing.