Agenda item

(Item 10 – Report by Mr M Hill, Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities and Amanda Honey, Corporate Director for Customer and Communities)

Cabinet received a report of the Select Committee: Preventing and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse in Kent which sought approval for the recommendations contained within.

The Leader of the County Council, Mr Paul Carter, confirmed that the full County Council meeting of 13^th December 2012 would also consider the report and recommendations.

The Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities, Mr Mike Hill introduced the report and welcomed its findings and recommendations especially timely, he argued, in light of the recent election of a Police Commissioner for Kent and Medway and the launch of KCC’s new website focussed on issues and resolutions related to Domestic Violence.

The Chairman of the Select Committee Mr John Kirby and Select Committee members Mrs Tweed and Mr Willicombe were in attendance to speak to the report.

Mr Kirby spoke to the report and drew on particular issues within it, including:

·         The varied profiles of both victims and perpetrators of Domestic abuse and therefore the necessary variety of solutions that might be employed.

·         The concern of the Select Committee regarding the withdrawal of dedicated Domestic Abuse Liaison officers owing to budgetary constraints within the Police Force.  He argued that this would have a negative affect on victims.  However, as mentioned previously by the Mr Hill, the election of the Police Commissioner for Kent and Medway presented an opportunity to raise the profile of domestic violence and abuse and ensure partnership working to reduce its occurrences and impacts.

·         That it was important to create partnership and multi agency working via GP’s, A&E departments, One Stop Shops, etc and the will to do so was evident amongst stakeholders and other organisations.

·         That cyclical domestic violence within families should be targeted and schools should, and were, educating children about what was normal within a relationship and what was not.

·         Finally he thanked those members who had been involved in the Committee and officers for the support they had given and he hoped that the report produced would raise awareness and offer some solutions to a challenging problem.

Mrs Tweed also spoke to the report and drew on issues within; she reiterated some of the points made by Mr Kirby and additionally referred to the following:

• That Domestic Violence was a crime that isolated the victim and therefore efforts to lift the taboo were welcome in all forms.

• That subsections of domestic violence were touched on in the report but that more work should be done on honour killings and female genital mutilation.   With regard to the latter crime the CPS had introduced a ten point plan to help improve reporting.
• That although the problem was diverse and wide spread, small changes in attitude and actions could make a difference and the recommendations in the report aimed to achieve that.

The Cabinet Member for Business Strategy, Performance and Health Reform, Roger Gough addressed Cabinet; he welcomed the report and representations made by members of the Select Committee and particularly the links identified between Domestic Violence and the Health Agenda.  In the sprit of an integrated approach, work being lead by the probation service was underway to secure a joint fund between various stakeholders.    He reported that the shadow Health and Wellbeing Board had discussed this and had also reflected on the need for multi agency working and he welcomed the Select Committee’s approach in this respect also.

The Corporate Director of Customer and Communities spoke to the item, she reported that at the launch of the website referred to earlier by the Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities those present were reminded of the victims of domestic violence including the children and young people affected by violence in families.  She reported that in order to recognise this, the website had an area dedicated to children and young people and this area would be developed with the input of these young people in the future.

The Leader of the County Council welcomed the report and recommendations.  He agreed that the issue was a serious one and thanked the Select Committee for their careful consideration of it and the useful recommendations.  He considered that it was important for the Council to not only accept the recommendations but act on them.  He asked that the report scheduled for County Council on 13 December start to address some of the practical ways in which the recommendations might be implemented and desired result delivered.

The Kent Director of Public Health, Ms Meredith Peachy reported that Community Services had committed to using some of the new Health Visitors for work in the Domestic Violence arena but numbers had yet to be confirmed.  In addition she asked members to think about how success should be measured.  It was important to remember that success might mean an increase in Domestic Violence owing to greater awareness and reporting. In particular she expected the One Stop Shop Services to be well used and to provide a more user friendly service for some victims than the police in the first instance.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Social Care, Graham Gibbens referred to the section of the report entitled ‘Breaking the Cycle’ and stressed the importance of targets and indicators of success in achieving this.   He hoped that the report would be considered by the Adult Safeguarding Board.

The Cabinet Member for Special Children’s Services, Mrs Jenny Whittle put forward her thoughts, in particular she argued that

·         Kroner House had begun to organically grow into a One Stop Shop Service and this work could be strengthened by the addition of a dedicated Domestic Violence and Abuse Specialist.

·         Home Ante-natal visits had ceased some years ago and this she argued was to the detriment of Domestic Violence work.  Visiting the home was an opportunity for Health Visitors to take a holistic view of a mothers needs.

·         That men must not be forgotten as victims, nor must parents abused by adolescent children who are often suffering from undiagnosed or untreated mental health disorders.

Mr Alan Willicombe, Select Committee member, addressed Cabinet; he particularly referred to the following:

·         He reiterated the importance of supporting all victims of Domestic Violence.  He questioned the suitability of jointly provided services for men and women in light of the kinds of abuse that had occurred and suggested separate facilities or sessions for men and women.

·         That the Select Committee had not been able to address some of the issues that came to light in as much detail as it would have liked owing to time constraints.  He urged KCC to continue to further investigate this crucial area of work in the future.

Mr John Kirby, Chairman of the Select Committee provided closing comments to Cabinet, he reminded those present of the emotional, physical and financial costs of Domestic Violence.  He urged the Council to act quickly in negotiations with the Police Commissioner before budgets were set.  In conclusion he further supported statements made previously about the benefits of joint working and funding. 

The Leader of the County Council, thanked all of those involved in the production of the excellent report that had been considered.  He referred to the paper that would be considered on the 13^th December 2012 at the County Council meeting and welcomed the opportunity to debate what would be done to reduce Domestic Violence in the County.

It was RESOLVED: