Decision details

New Burdens Funding for Statutory Domestic Abuse Duty (2022-23) - Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)

Reference: D55347

Decision Maker: Director of Communities, Housing & Environment

Decision status: For Determination

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

Under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State for Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has awarded a grant of £1,851,227 to Leeds City Council. The grant period is 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023.

The grant covers revenue expenditure relating to the functions set out in the statutory duty (within the Domestic Abuse Bill) on Tier 1 Local Authorities, relating to the provision of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children residing within safe accommodation and to the development of a multi-agency Local Partnership Board (LPB) to support LAs in performing certain specified functions. 

Approval is being sought to:

·  accept the grant allocation from DLUHC

·  award funding to a number of organisations to enhance the support to victims-survivors of domestic abuse living in safe accommodation

·  allocate an element of the grant to LCC in order to fund the additional administrative burden associated with the new Statutory Duty

 

Decision:

 

The Director of Communities, Housing and Environment approved:

 

(i) under the provision of Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) - Regulation 72(1)(c).

 

·  DN194503: £368,777 to Leeds Women’s Aid for the Leeds Domestic Violence Service

·  DN194503: £295,897 to Leeds Domestic Violence Service (via Leeds Women’s Aid as the lead agency) to provide additional support through the existing community based domestic abuse service.

·  DN199026: £82,730 to Turning Lives Around Ltd for the Beacon Service

·  DN421340: £203,136 to Gipsil Limited for the Our Way Leeds Service

·  DN415655: £50,000 to Basis Yorkshire

 

  ii)  grant allocations to the following organisations:

 

·  £255,945 to Leeds Womens Aid to provide additional support to clients living in the non-commissioned Leeds Women’s Aid refuge

·  £298,273 as a grant to Leeds Women’s Aid to develop, manage and fund a new Sanctuary Support Team which will include workers from a number of community based organisations

·  up to £50,000 as a grant to St Anne’s Community Services to provide domestic violence support to the clients they support through their accommodation based housing support services.

 

iii) allocation of £280,000 to Leeds City Council (Safer Leeds and Leeds Housing Options (LHO) to fund the staff resource required to undertake the administrative burden of the new Statutory Duty and to increase and develop the domestic violence and abuse specialism within the LHO team

 

iv)  that the remaining funding relating to this decision (£305,051) will be made via Significant Operational Decision or Administrative Decisions as appropriate.

 

The funding will be used to increase the number of domestic abuse support workers across the city, providing additional and enhanced support to people experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

 

 

Wards Affected: (All Wards);

Other reasons / organisations consulted

Ongoing consultation will be undertaken via:

·  the Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board (DALPB)

·  the Domestic Abuse Voice and Accountability (DAVA) forum

·  conversations with people who have experienced / are experiencing domestic abuse

 

Consultees

Members of the DALPB (chaired by the Executive Member for Communities):

Members of the Domestic Abuse Voice and Accountability forum (a wide-ranging group of frontline services who support service users who are experiencing/have experienced  domestic abuse)

People who have lived / are living in safe accommodation who are victims-survivors of domestic abuse.

Contact: Alison Ferguson, Commissioning and Contracts Officer Email: alison.ferguson@leeds.gov.uk.

Publication date: 07/06/2022

Date of decision: 15/06/2022

Effective from: 23/06/2022

Accompanying Documents: