Youth Independent Domestic Violence Advocates to Support Young Victims

There are commitments in the Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan and London Knife Crime Strategy to ‘continue to support youth workers and Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) in Major Trauma Centres (MTCs), extending the programme to key A&E departments in Boroughs that have high levels of knife crime’.

This decision recommends that MOPAC funds the current provider of youth IDVAs support services to young victims in London’s Major Trauma Centres, Solace Women’s Aid, for an additional six months through to September 2020 via grant agreement.

Awarding funding to the current provider for these services enables MOPAC to avoid a gap in service provision and creates a reasonable timeframe to implement an open and competitive commissioning process for the delivery of specialist support to young victims in London’s four Major Trauma Centres from October 2020 through to 2021/22 financial year.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to approve the award of a conditional grant up to the value of £72,000 to Solace Women’s Aid to continue to provide specialist support for young victims in London’s four Major Trauma Centres through the provision of youth IDVAs.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. The Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan 2017-2021 (PCP) puts victims at the heart of everything MOPAC does, making significant commitments regarding the provision of better services and improving the experience of for victims of crime.

1.2. MOPAC has been contributing funding towards, and commissioning hospital-based support for young victims of violence since 2014/5. Youth Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) engage with victims who present with a risk of child sexual exploitation and domestic abuse/violence in a service that is integrated with clinically embedded youth workers that engage with victims of serious youth violence who present at the A&E with assault-related injuries, gunshot wounds and stabbings. The work is done in the hospital immediately after the incident, which research has shown to be a unique ‘teachable moment’. It is at this critical juncture that young people are often willing to look at making significant changes to their lives.

1.3. Commitments were made in the PCP and London Knife Crime Strategy to ‘continue to support youth workers andIDVAs in Major Trauma Centres (MTCs), extending the programme to key A&E departments in Boroughs that have high levels of knife crime’.

1.4. The current grant agreement with Solace Women’s Aid – to deliver the services to young victims of domestic abuse/violence in MTCs – ends in March 2020.

1.5. DMPC Decision 569 approves to commit up to a maximum of £290,000 funding to deliver specialist support to young victims of domestic abuse and violence in London’s four MTCs from April 2020 through to 2021/22 financial year, through an open and competitive commissioning process.

2. Issues for Consideration

2.1. MOPAC has funded a youth IDVA service to support young victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence since November 2015. This service is currently being delivered by Solace Women’s Aid.

2.2. In 2018/9 MTC young victims of domestic abuse/violence services supported 391 young people predominantly for DA (79%) or as the victim of sexual offences (8%) resulting in 38 referrals into MARAC and 27 Children’s safeguarding referrals.

2.3. This decision seeks DMPC approval to commit up to a maximum of £72,000 grant funding directly to Solace Women’s Aid to continue to deliver specialist support to young victims of domestic abuse and violence in London’s four Major Trauma Centres from April 2020 through to September 2020.

2.4. Continuing to fund Solace Women’s Aid to deliver these services until September 2020 creates a reasonable timeframe to implement an open and competitive commissioning process and avoids a gap in service provision. The service operates in a complex clinical environment which will require time for a new service to embed itself. Awarding a grant to the current provider for a short period will enable effective service mobilisation and provide consistency of service for vulnerable young victims.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. DMPC Decision 569 approves the commitment of up to a maximum of £290,000 allocated to the delivery of youth IDVA service in MTCs which will continue to come from the MoJ Victims Grant. It is noted that this is an annual funding allocation from the MoJ to the Mayor and therefore funding would need to be provided at risk, backed by provision within MOPAC reserves until MoJ funding is confirmed.

Table 1: Funding breakdown for continuation of funding to MTC service for young victims of DA/DV

3.2. This decision seeks DMPC approval to commit up to a maximum of £72,000 grant funding of the £290,000 allocated above to fund six months delivery (April 2020 through to September 2020) to deliver specialist support to young victims of domestic abuse and violence in London’s four Major Trauma Centres.

4. Legal Comments

4.1 MOPAC’s general powers are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). Section 3(6) of the 2011 Act provides that MOPAC must “secure the maintenance of the metropolitan police service and secure that the metropolitan police service is efficient and effective.” Under Schedule 3, paragraph 7 MOPAC has wide incidental powers to “do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.” Paragraph 7(2) (a) provides that this includes entering into contracts and other agreements.

4.2 Section 143 (1) (b) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides an express power for MOPAC, as a local policing body, to provide or commission services “intended by the local policing body to help victims or witnesses of, or other persons affected by, offences and anti-social behaviour.” Section 143(3) specifically allows MOPAC to make grants in connection with such arrangements and any grant may be made subject to any conditions that MOPAC thinks appropriate.

4.3 The powers in section 143 were given to MOPAC following the Government’s response to the consultation Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses (2 July 2012) in which it set out a package of reforms to the way in which support services for victims of crime are to be provided.

4.4 The recommendations in this decision are in line with the legislation and in line with MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation as set out below.

4.5 In line with section 4 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Consent and Delegation, the DMPC has authority for the:

• approval of business cases for revenue expenditure above £500,000 and for the strategy for the award of grants (section 4.8);

• approval of the strategy for the award of individual grants and the award of all individual grants (section 4.8); and

• approval of the procurement strategy and requests to go out for tender for contracts of £500,000 or above, and the award of contracts with a value of £500,000 and above (section 4.13).

4.6 In line with section 5.22 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation, the Chief Executive Officer has authority for the finalisation of planning and contractual/grant arrangements, including relevant terms and the signing of contracts and grant agreements.

4.7 Officers have sought legal advice to ensure that the arrangement of a direct grant to an existing hospital-based youth services comply with legal requirements.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1. The funding for the provision of youth IDVAs to young victims of domestic violence/abuse in MTCs, from April 2020 through to September 2020, will be directly awarded to Solace Women’s Aid via grant agreement.

5.2. Delivery outcomes and spend profile will be bound by the terms of the grant agreement negotiated with Solace Women’s Aid before any commitment to fund is made.

6. Public Health Approach

6.1. The principle of youth workers embedded in hospital Major Trauma wards and A&Es aligns well with the public health approach that is at the heart of the VRU. These services identify and delivery interventions to young people at point of crisis – a significant number who are under 18 and not previously known to services. They provide trauma-informed and child-centered support with the aim of disrupting the cycle of violence, in particular tit-for-tat retaliation. They also support the victim to cope and recover more effectively, accessing wider health services, with the aim of supporting that young person to be able to access services necessary (e.g. training, education, mental health support) for them to be able to make more positive life choices.

6.2. The VRU is also informed by data and evidence to understand and tackle the causes of violence. The data received quarterly from the MTC and A&E services allows us to see a picture of victimisation that police and even ambulance data does not show us. Hospitals receive substantial proportions of ‘walk ins’ so the data collected helps us to better understand the locations, age, ethnicities and genders overrepresented in the violence data.

7. GDPR and Data Privacy

7.1. Solace Women’s Aid provision of youth IDVA’s is an existing service and a Data Protection Impact Assessments is already in place.

7.2. All grant agreements include clear provisions relating to compliance in this area, and in relation to the processing of personal data, therefore the grant agreement covering the continuation of delivery will specify MOPAC’s requirement in this area. These terms were drafted following consultation with MOPAC’s GDPR Project Manager.

8. Equality Comments

8.1. Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act), as a public authority the Deputy Mayor/MOPAC must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act; and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics under the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only).

8.2. The Police and Crime Plan and associated commissioning plans are based on two principles:

- Victims First – putting victims at the heart of everything we do.

- Reducing inequalities in communities – a focus on setting an agreed standard and addressing the disparities we see across the city.

8.3. To address the inequalities that exist in London, MOPAC has four targeted priorities directed at those people who are disproportionately affected by crime. The priorities aim to provide specialised services that safeguard the most vulnerable in society and reduce evident existing inequalities. These priorities are reflected in MOPAC’s victims’ commissioning plans over the next three years and are as follows:

- A better police service for London

- A better Criminal Justice Service for London

- Keeping Children and Young People Safe

- Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.

8.4. All providers and services commissioned by MOPAC must be compliant with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 and demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities and understanding of equality issues.

8.5. The Police and Crime Plan 2017-21 Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) takes into account feedback from the public and stakeholders and makes an assessment of its impact on a number of objectives including Crime, Safety and Security, Equality and Inclusion and Social Integration.

8.6. The Impact Assessment shows that young people are disproportionately impacted by crime as both victims and offender and that serious youth violence has increased steadily for the past three years, with 6,600 young victims in the 12 months to September 2016. The number of knife crimes with injury committed against Londoners under the age of 25 is, at 1,782 offences in the year to September 2017, the highest level since 2012. The evidence is clear that when young people are victimised, they are subsequently at much higher risk of both offending themselves and re-victimisation.

8.7. This decision supports an initiative and interventions for young victims, but particularly those victims of more serious crimes, vulnerable and repeat victims, and particular sections of the community who are over-represented amongst victims of crime.

8.8. Diversity monitoring is an integral part of quarterly performance management processes for current Youth IDVA in MTCs provision. This monitoring helps us to understand the needs of those accessing services and enable us to evolve our services to ensure they fit the needs of those using it. We know from performance reports that in 2018/19 a total of 200 young Londoners received support from Solace’s Youth IDVAs. The most prominent age bracket for young people support was 16-20 (49%), followed by 20-25 (44%) with 0-15 accounting for the remaining cohort. 24% of young people engaged were white, 16.6% were black/black British, 11.5% were mixed/multiple ethnic groups, and 7.2% were Asian/Asian British. An average of 84.3% of clients were female; 10% male; 0.2% ‘other’; and 5.5% as ‘Don’t know,’ or ‘’not asked.’ Youth workers delivering these services are trained and experienced at providing trauma informed support to young people with complex needs.

9. Background/supporting papers

None