Agenda item
Domestic Violence Service - Sustainable Funding
The Lead Member Cleaner Safer Greener and Service Head Community Safety will attend to report on this.
(Time allocated – 15 minutes)
Minutes:
Ms Philippa Chipping, Policy and Victims Manager, gave a presentation, which responded to the matters raised by Councillor Jones, Scrutiny Lead – Safe and Supportive, at the previous meeting of the Committee, regarding concerns around sustainable funding for specialist domestic violence services. The presentation focused on the following points:
Specialist Domestic Violence element of Drugs and Alcohol Service
· Previously identified need for this service, how it had been fed into the refresh of the Homelessness Strategy and resulted in identification of funding for a pilot post:
· Volume and nature of the current caseload of the Domestic Violence and Substance Misuse Worker.
· Sustainable funding issues: Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust had no funding available in the longer term for the post, however £9,000 had been identified to maintain service provision to end of March 2010.
· Future options: Closure, reduced funding for other services, raising income from other domestic violence services such as sanctuaries, but more probably inclusion within the Council’s Alcohol Services Contract currently being negotiated with a new provider.
Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy Service
· Local need for the service identified by the independent ranking of the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference review, and the waiting list for the service.
· Nature of current service provision: 3 permanent posts (Council core funding), 2 temporary posts funded by the Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership and Safe and Supportive Community Plan Delivery Group.
· Sustainable funding issues: Area Based Grant (ABG) and the Borough Commander’s Budget funded a range of valuable posts, including DV Advocacy, but the allocation of 2009/10 ABG funding although unknown was likely to be greatly reduced and additional DV advocacy capacity lost as a result.
· Future options: a scoping exercise had been undertaken and the merger of roles was being examined.
A detailed question and answer session followed which was centred on the following points:
· How could the potential loss of these services be highlighted to appropriate Members to intervene before the Budget was finalised.
· In the context of Cabinet consideration of funding bids for service improvement had the directorate submitted a bid for the £45,000 required to maintain the DV and Substance Misuse Worker; if not could one still be submitted.
· The extent to which Children, Schools and Families Directorate funding had been utilised to support DV service provision, given the impact of DV on children and families.
· Whether examination of budget underspends had been undertaken with a view to identifying funding to maintain DV services.
· Whether consideration been given to Third Sector grant funding from sources such as News International or the St Katharines and Shadwell Trust; or from partners such as the East London NHS Foundation Trust.
· The probability of re-provision of the DV and Substance Misuse service within the Council’s Alcohol Services Contract, PCT funding for this and necessary contractual arrangements.
· Clarification sought and given as to whether the £9000 funding to maintain DV and substance misuse service to end of March 2010 was in place, or yet to be identified.
· Need for consideration of this issue by the highest level of the TH Partnership given the number of stakeholders and the need for a holistic approach/ solution. In this context a written briefing note on the issues was requested for Members of the Committee.
· How Tower Hamlets compared to other boroughs with regard to levels of DV and related service provision.
· The extent to which it was possible to examine serious violence by gender and particularly the overall picture in relation to women, strands within this such as forced marriage, “honour based crime”, prostitution, for use as leverage with the Metropolitan Police and within the Partnership generally.
· The Committee requested further information, collated from multi agency sources, which gave a more comprehensive picture of domestic violence in Tower Hamlets.
· Whether there was a sustainable programme targeted at perpetrators of DV given that helping them could reduce levels of DV over the longer term.
The Chair thanked Ms Chipping, Mr Bamber and Councillor Ullah for attending and making their presentation. He also requested that Members/ Officers continue to liaise with Ms Chipping with a view to maintaining domestic violence service provision.