Agenda item

A report will be submitted which provides an update on activity to tackle domestic abuse in Kirklees, in line with the strategic aims and priorities of the 2022-27 Domestic Abuse Strategy.

Contact:

Jo Richmond, Head of Communities Service

Chani Mortimer, Service Manager for Domestic Abuse and Safeguarding Partnerships

A report was submitted which provided a detailed update on activity to tackle domestic abuse in Kirklees, in line with the strategic aims and priorities of the 2022-2027 Domestic Abuse Strategy.

Jill Greenfield - Service Director Customer and Communities, Jo Richmond - Head of Communities and Chani Mortimer - Service Manager for Domestic Abuse were in attendance to present the report and answer questions.

Councillor Carole Pattison, the Cabinet Member for Learning, Aspiration and Communities was also present, as well as representatives of partner organisations:

Inspector Catherine Shackleton - West Yorkshire Police, Gwen Clyde-Evans – West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, and Catherine McKenzie - Yorkshire Children’s Centre (Perpetrators Programme).

It was explained that:

·       The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act had introduced a new statutory requirement for local authorities to support victims of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation.

·       Associated grant funding, in the region of £900,000 per annum, was expected to be available for the period 2021/22 to 2024/25.

·       The necessary arrangements to meet the statutory requirements had been established.

·       The Strategy had been endorsed by Cabinet on 17^th January 2023 and the contribution of the Committee in its development was acknowledged.

·       An overview of the delivery/outcomes to date in respect of each of the commitments in the strategy was included in the report.

·       The Strategy was designed to encompass all domestic abuse related activity and included the stated priorities of:

-    A whole family approach to domestic abuse,

-    Supporting perpetrators to change behaviour,

-    Partnership response to victims with multiple needs and/or protected   characteristics,

-    Supporting victims to maintain or access safe and stable housing,

-    Multi-agency working arrangements,

with the focus being placed on activity under the first two within the first year.

Gwen Clyde-Evans explained the Integrated Care Board’s approach and the work being done to identify victims, and children of victims, of domestic abuse through emergency departments and the work of the independent domestic abuse advocates. Work was also ongoing to increase the awareness and recognition of people who may have suffered trauma through experiencing, witnessing or perpetrating domestic abuse, to manage the associated risks and to identify services that could provide support to victims and perpetrators.

Catherine Shackleton explained the work being undertaken alongside the Domestic Abuse Community Engagement Team on a project which aimed to raise awareness of domestic abuse with people working in the hair and beauty industry, including providing advice on how to respond. A website was in development that would facilitate signposting to different support agencies. The Police were also involved with the ‘Safezones’ partnership initiative which aimed to establish places in the district where advice, support and help could be sought. Training had been provided to significant numbers of staff from different organisations to assist them in identifying domestic abuse and how to signpost people to appropriate support. Many businesses were engaged with the scheme and over 100 locations were now registered. Quarterly newsletters were circulated to maintain knowledge and awareness.

Catherine McKenzie outlined a long-term partnership behaviour change programme that was being provided for perpetrators which included an aim to amplify the voices of children. A pilot scheme had included sharing the work of local children, that explored and expressed the impact of domestic abuse through the mediums of art and poems, with perpetrators and had proved to be a very powerful and positive element in helping to educate them on the impacts of domestic abuse. This was to be further expanded and delivered for the children of perpetrators.

Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·     The work being undertaken across the partnership was evident and was very positive; the work around prevention with perpetrators and children was welcomed.

·     In terms of the place-based approach, domestic abuse had been identified as a priority for the previous ‘Place Partnerships’ initiative and the associated funding had allowed the trial of a different approach to engaging with local communities. This approach had now shifted to a focus on the Primary Care Networks and there were good links with colleagues in health.

·     The grant funding had been focussed on key areas such as the impact of domestic abuse on children and victims with complex needs. It had been utilised for a number of specialist support initiatives, the vast majority of provision being through third sector organisations. All work had been informed by a needs assessment undertaken in collaboration with partners.

·     Benchmarking against other local authorities in respect of the conversion rate of calls made to the Police could be provided for Members.

·     The significant increase in reports of coercive controlling behaviour was partly due to increased awareness of this crime

·     The ‘safezone’ scheme was broader than the ‘safe spaces’ scheme, providing somewhere for anyone who felt unsafe to go and access support; and there was an awareness of the need to minimise any confusion between the two. All libraries had signed up to the safezone scheme and training would be offered to staff. Targeted work would be undertaken to widen the provision of safezones, particularly in the rural and Batley and Spen areas.

·     The national recognition of the significant impact of domestic abuse on children and young people was welcomed and the project to share the voice of young people with perpetrators was interesting.

·     It was now compulsory for schools to address the issues of the development of healthy and positive relationships with young people and to foster and encourage appropriate attitudes. There was a working group on healthy relationships group which focussed on these issues and positive work was being undertaken in the district’s schools. The Community Engagement Team had worked on a pilot project at a school in Dewsbury and the aim was to train the Designated Safeguarding Leads within all high schools to deliver this. Consideration was also being given to a similar age-appropriate package for primary schools.

·     The Place Partnerships funding had provided the opportunity to prove the value of community interventions and had also highlighted the importance of community resilience. A new approach to commissioning was being developed to enable more effective use of resources and this would include consideration of funding for place-based, community-based work on domestic abuse. The learning from this work would also be shared with other teams such as Community Plus and build into the core service.

·     The project with hair and beauty industry would include training on how to offer support and signpost in a discrete manner.

·     There was a dedicated team working across all the hospital sites to identify individuals who may need support and significant work and training being undertaken to improve awareness across the wider workforce.

·     It was queried whether this service was mirrored in adjacent trusts as constituents on the edge of the district may cross the borders to attend their nearest hospital.

·     The key issue was considered to be having a workforce that was skilled to recognise domestic abuse and communicate/link back to GPs where appropriate.

·     In response to a question to Yorkshire Children’s Centre, about whether the level of need for the behaviour change programme was being met, it was explained that this was very difficult to assess. It had taken a while to build the momentum of referrals and engagement. One of the challenges was that individuals who took part had to be willing to engage, have accepted some accountability and be motivated to change.

·     An established working group was proactively looking at the issues of sustainable and safe accommodation. Work was being undertaken alongside third sector partners to help people stay safe in their own homes. It was acknowledged that there were no easy solutions in respect of access to stable housing but best practice in other areas was being examined and discussions undertaken with partners.

·     The timescales for the community engagement activity were included within the delivery plan, as recommended by the Committee in March 2022.

Councillor Pattison stressed the importance of this work and welcomed the additional funding that had facilitated additional work and the adoption of a more detailed approach in terms of early intervention, as well as supporting victims, their families and the wider community.

Resolved -

(1)      That the officers and representatives of partners be thanked for their presentations.

(2)      That it be noted that work is to be undertaken to widen the provision of ‘safezones’, particularly in the Rural and Batley and Spen areas.

(3)      That further information be provided for Members in relation to:

(a) benchmarking against other local authorities in respect of the incident/crime conversion rate for reports made to the Police; and

(b) the approach being taken on a wider scale, in terms of the adjacent NHS Trusts that Kirklees residents may access due to their location towards the edges of the district.