Proposed Decision:
The Leader of the Council is asked to:
· adopt the Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Partnership Strategy 2024 – 2029 on behalf of Kent County Council.
· delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health in consultation with the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, to refresh and/or make revisions with the Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Executive Group as appropriate during the lifetime of the strategy.
· delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health in consultation with the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education to take relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of, and entering into required contract or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the decision.
Further Information:
The Kent and Medway Domestic and Sexual Abuse Executive Group, and the associated governance structure, is a partnership which includes Kent County Council, Medway Council, Kent Police, the Police and Crime Commissioners Office, Probation, Kent District, City and Borough Councils, the Department of Work and Pensions, the NHS and Kent Fire and Rescue Service.
The current Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Strategy was developed in 2020 and refreshed in 2021. This strategy was revised to include new statutory tier one duties linked to safe accommodation, recognising that safe accommodation is part of a wider response to domestic abuse. The current strategy finishes in 2023 and a ‘progress made’ report is published on the consultation web page, showing work completed to meet the strategy commitments and highlighting opportunity areas which are incorporated within the 2024-2029 strategy.
In developing the 2024-2029 Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Strategy, Kent County Council and Medway Council have worked with the Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Executive Group to create a document which supports a coordinated partnership response across services. The Executive Group seek to utilise available funding from across partners to improve outcomes, working towards the strategies aim: ‘to reduce the prevalence of domestic abuse and ensure that where domestic abuse takes place, all those affected get the right support, quickly.’
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Affects more than two Electoral Divisions;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: (All Division);
Notice of proposed decision first published: 01/11/2023
Decision due: Not before 30th Nov 2023 by Leader of the Council
Reason: To allow 28 day notice period required under Executive decision regulations
Lead member: Leader of the Council
Lead director: Akua Agyepong
Contact: Serine Annan-Veitch, Policy Advisor 03000 419290 Email: Serine.Annan-Veitch@kent.gov.uk.
Consultees
The proposed decision was considered and endorsed by the Policy and Resources Cabinet Committee on the 17th January 2024.
Financial implications: The impact of domestic abuse has financial costs to many services within the public sector including Police, Probation, Health and Social Care. The strategy aims to support partnership working to improve collaboration and enhance service design to maximise outcomes from available funds from across the partnership to improve the experiences of those accessing services. Tier 1 and tier 2 authorities receive funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to discharge specific statutory duties within the Domestic Abuse Act. Other support including that for community services and domestic homicide reviews is financed through partnership arrangements. Funding routes for both KCC and partners may change within the lifetime of the strategy and this is recognised within the document, 'some areas of this strategy [are] dependent on continued local and national funding and options for collaborative bids. The Partnership will seek opportunities to access monies to supp
Legal implications: In April 2021, the Domestic Abuse Act was passed in law. The Domestic Abuse Act creates a statutory requirement for tier one local authorities with cooperation from tier two authorities to: " assess need for accommodation-based support , " prepare a strategy to provide such support, " give effect to the strategy, " monitor the strategy, and " report back annually to central government. The strategy must clearly set out the overall and holistic purpose, aims, priorities and approach to deliver a rounded offer of support to those impacted by domestic abuse. This includes detailing the purpose, plans and approaches working across tier one and two local authorities with partners, including other services within the authority, specialist domestic abuse providers, PCCs, housing and health bodies (not limited to) through a Local Partnership Board. The Local Partnership Board was established in Kent in May 2021, and is part of the Kent and Medway Domestic and Sexual Abuse Executiv
Equalities implications: Protected characteristics and the intersectionality of these directly impacts risk of domestic abuse and the types of abuse which an individual may experience. The Equality Impact Assessment shows a positive impact from the strategy due to commitments which recognise this. The strategy seeks to ensure that services meet needs across protected characteristics. The strategy recognises that people experiencing abuse who may have limited access to public funding due to their immigration status may be highly vulnerable (no recourse to public funds) and seeks to support collaborative and innovative working to support those impacted by this status. Data Protection implications: The development of the strategy does not require a Data Protection Impact Assessment to be completed.