MD3082 Funding for domestic abuse safe accommodation support

1.1 Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (the 2021 Act) came into force on 1 October 2021. It confers a statutory duty on Tier 1 authorities (in London, the GLA) to support survivors of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation. The Domestic Abuse Support (Local Authority Strategies and Annual Reports) Regulations 2021 (the 2021 Regulations) also came into force on 1 October 2021.

1.2 The key functions required of Tier 1 authorities – as outlined in the 2021 Act, the 2021 Regulations and statutory guidance – include preparing, publishing and keeping under review a strategy for accommodation-based support for survivors of domestic abuse and their children. They also require Tier 1 authorities to affect the strategy in carrying out their functions through commissioning and decommissioning decisions.

1.3 Mayoral approval (via MD2788 and MD2842) was given for the receipt and expenditure of £20.688m of funding (to cover both administration and support) for 2021-22 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). This was followed by Mayoral approval for the receipt and expenditure of £20,745,496 of funding for 2022-23 from the DLUHC (approved via MD2967). The Mayor also approved, via these Mayoral Decisions, the GLA entering into a shared-services arrangement with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). Through this arrangement, MOPAC supports the GLA to undertake the activities associated with the new duty.

1.4 Informed by the London needs assessment, and consultation with stakeholders, a draft strategy for the provision of accommodation-based domestic abuse support in London was published for consultation on 5 November 2021 (approved via MD2892). The final strategy was published on 23 December 2021 (approved via MD2902).

1.5 The DLUHC has allocated funding of £21,160,496 for 2023-24; and £21,559,735 for 2024-25, for both administration and support costs. The vast majority of the funding will be used for the provision of support to victims/survivors of domestic abuse in safe accommodation. Approval is therefore sought to receive and expend this funding.

1.6 The commissioning approach for this support was approved via MD2898. This involved the establishment of the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Framework, dated 20December 2021. MOPAC, with the GLA, can then call off services from the framework to support survivors of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation.

1.7 The administrative costs associated with implementing the duty will also be paid from the government funding provided to the GLA for 2023-24 and 2024-25. The administrative costs include staffing, legal input and activities incurred, or to be incurred, by MOPAC under the shared-services agreement. Approval is sought to enable the Executive Director for Housing and Land to determine and approve spend on administrative costs, with a view to ensuring efficient and effective running of the programme while keeping overheads to a minimum.

1.8 Approval is also sought to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Housing and Land to approve the allocation of the remaining 2023-24 and 2024-25 funding to providers and London borough councils. This is for the delivery of support services; entry into contracts and grant agreements on behalf of the GLA; and administration costs. This information will be published on london.gov.uk.

2.1 Key outcomes and outputs for 2022-23 will include:

i. implementing the proposals set out in the strategy, including through:

i.i. commissioning and providing grant support to new and enhanced services, including via call-off and grant awards

i.ii. workstreams being taken forward through the London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Partnership Board (the Partnership Board)

ii. reviewing the needs assessment and the strategy.

2.2 All commissioning and grant funding will take forward policies and proposals in London’s Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy, the objectives of which are as follows:

i. To establish a clear and integrated pan-London pathway of support through all stages of a survivor’s journey, from early intervention through to crisis, recovery and beyond. This must include supporting victims/survivors to safely remain in their own homes, or to return if and when it is safe to do so.

ii. To support the right of victims/survivors to access physically and psychologically safe spaces where they and their children can recover safely from abuse, supported by services rooted in a rights-based, trauma-informed and gender-informed approach.

iii. To ensure that services, including refuges, meet the cultural, language, religious and other needs of those they serve; and, where appropriate, are run by ‘by and for’ specialist providers.

iv. To reduce the barriers to accessing services faced by victims/survivors, such as those requiring interpreters; Deaf and disabled victims/survivors; and non-UK nationals with unclear, limited or no recourse to public funds (NRPF).

v. To ensure that services are of a consistently high quality, in terms of both support and the accommodation provided, to enable victims/survivors to recover and rebuild. Over time, all provision should be self-contained, to support independence and dignity.

vi. To be more strategic in the way support is commissioned, delivered, and accessed, with the development of more multi-borough and pan-London-level services, where appropriate, and to ensure that victims’/survivors’ access to safety and recovery is not constrained by postcode.

3.1 Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as public authorities, the Mayor and the GLA are subject to a public-sector equality duty and must have ‘due regard’ to the need to:

i. eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation

ii. advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not

iii. foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2 Protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (all except the last being ‘relevant’ protected characteristics).

3.3 Characteristics of survivors of domestic abuse (national figures) are as follows:

i. Gender: women are much more likely than men to be the victims of high-risk or severe domestic abuse. Three-quarters of domestic abuse homicide victims in London between 2005 and 2020 were women.

ii. Age: younger people are more likely to be subject to interpersonal violence. Most high-risk victims are in their 20s or 30s. Those under 25 are the most likely to suffer interpersonal violence.

iii. Pregnancy: nearly one in three women who suffer from domestic abuse during their lifetime report that the first incidence of violence happened while they were pregnant.

iv. Separation: domestic abuse is highest amongst those who have separated, followed by those who are divorced or single.

v. Drug and alcohol use: victims of abuse have a higher rate of drug and/or alcohol misuse (whether it starts before or after the abuse); at least 20 per cent of high-risk victims of abuse report using drugs and/or alcohol.

vi. Mental health: 40 per cent of high-risk victims of abuse report mental health difficulties.

3.4 Given the above, the proposals in this paper are likely to have positive impacts on several groups with protected characteristics. Specifically, the activities carried out under the duty, supported by the government funding, will focus on arrangements to facilitate improvements in support for victims/survivors of domestic abuse (who are more likely than the general population to be women, and to have mental health support needs). The equalities implications will be kept under review throughout this programme of work, including in relation to the commissioning of support.

3.5 An equalities impact assessment was undertaken and was published with the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation strategy.

3.6 The 2021-22 commissioning round – which involves setting up a framework of providers and then calling off from that framework for specific services and initiatives – has been designed to help ensure that support is tailored to groups of victims/survivors with specific protected characteristics. This includes having a specific lot for ‘by and for’ providers, an approach unique to London. The framework of providers will continue to be used in 2022-23 for call-offs.

Key risks and issues

4.1 Table of risks and issues:

Links to other Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2 The objectives of the proposals are in line with:

i. the Mayor’s London Housing Strategy, policy 7.2c

ii. MOPAC’s Police and Crime Plan 2021-25 (tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of three priority areas for action to protect people at especially high risk of crime)

iii. MOPAC’s VAWG Strategy 2022-25.

Impact assessments and consultations

4.3 Both the London Housing Strategy and the VAWG Strategy were subject to public consultation and equality impact assessments. These strategies contain policies relating to pan-London provision of safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse.

4.4 The development of the draft London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy, and the final Strategy, involved extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. This includes those with whom the 2021 Act requires the GLA to consult on the draft strategy: the Partnership Board appointed by the GLA; the London boroughs; and such other persons as the GLA considers appropriate. There was also in-depth consultation and engagement during the development of the London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Needs Assessment, which provides much of the data informing the proposals in the London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy. MOPAC also convened a series of stakeholder workshops with boroughs and service providers on the commissioning approach and process.

4.5 As stated above, an equality impact assessment was undertaken and published with the strategy.

Conflicts of interest

4.6 The officers involved in the drafting and clearance of this form have not identified any known conflicts of interest.

5.1 This decision is seeking approval for the GLA to receive revenue grants from the DLUHC, in the amount of £21,160,496 for 2023-24 and £21,559,735 for 2024-25, which will be used to fund both administration and support costs for the provision of support to victims/survivors of domestic abuse in safe accommodation.

5.2 Approval is also sought to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Housing and Land to approve the expenditure for MOPAC to provide the service under the shared-services agreement; and to allocate remaining funds in the respective years to London boroughs, to provide support services to victims/survivors of domestic abuse in safe accommodation.

5.3 The risks and mitigations for delivering this programme are outlined in section 4, above.

6.1 Part 4 of the 2021 Act received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021 and commenced on 1 October 2021.

6.2 Section 57(1)(b) of the 2021 Act provides that a relevant authority (which in London is the GLA) must prepare and publish a strategy for the provision of accommodation-based domestic abuse support in its area.

6.3 Section 57(3) of the 2021 Act provides that a relevant local authority publishing such a strategy must, in carrying out its functions, effect that strategy.

6.4 Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 places a general obligation on the GLA to exercise its various functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent, the following: 

i. crime and disorder in its area (including antisocial and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment)

ii. the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances in its area

iii. reoffending in its area.

6.5 Section 401A(2) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 provides that arrangements may be entered into for the provision of administrative, professional or technical services, whether for consideration or otherwise. The shared-services agreement entered into by MOPAC and the GLA provides for consideration to be made in such sums to be determined by the parties.

6.6 Any funding granted must be provided in accordance with section 12 of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code. Furthermore, officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement be put in place between the GLA and the grant recipients before any of the funding be provided.

6.7 Officers have indicated that services will be called off from the London Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Framework agreement, which was procured specifically for the purposes of discharging the GLA’s duties under the 2021 Act. Moreover, officers must ensure that the services required are procured in accordance with the requirements of that framework. Finally, officers must ensure that an appropriate call-off agreement be put in place and executed by the successful bidder and the GLA before the commencement of the services.

6.8 Any further services that are not called off from the aforementioned framework must be procured separately by the GLA in consultation with TfL’s Procurement and Commercial team, who will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code, and the relevant procurement legislation. Officers must ensure that an appropriate contract be put in place, and executed, by the GLA and the successful bidder before the commencement of the relevant services.

6.9 Any function exercisable by the Mayor on behalf of the Authority may also be exercised by any member of GLA staff, albeit subject to any conditions that the Mayor sees fit to impose. To this end, the Mayor may make the requested delegation to Executive Director of Housing and Land, if he so chooses.