Guidance

Guidance for local authorities on the domestic abuse capacity building fund

Published 5 October 2020

Applies to England

1. Background

On 3 March 2020 the government re-introduced the Domestic Abuse Bill into this Parliament.

The Bill includes a new duty on Tier 1 local authorities (unitary and metropolitan authorities outside London, county councils, the GLA and the Council of the Isles of Scilly), in England to provide support for victims and their children within safe accommodation. Subject to the successful passage of the Bill, the new duty will commence in April 2021.

The government response to the consultation on future support in domestic abuse safe accommodation sets out more details of how the proposed new duty will work and can help local authorities in early planning for implementation.

The text of the Domestic Abuse Bill (clauses 55-59) is available on the UK Parliament website.

The £6 million capacity building funding is part of a series of steps the government is taking to ensure local authorities are ready for implementation of the duty.

MHCLG has recently run a series of local authority webinars focussed on particular elements of the new duty. We intend to provide further support to local authorities in the run up to implementation through additional webinars and sharing of best practice.

The government will also be developing and consulting on statutory guidance to support local authorities. We will also seek input on the proposed standardised needs assessment and reporting mechanisms, as well as on the proposed method for allocation of funding under the duty.

2. The purpose of the £6 million capacity building fund

The government is providing a £6 million capacity building fund to help local authorities prepare for the implementation of the new duty. It will ensure authorities are adequately resourced to plan, prepare for implementation and properly engage with all key agencies in their area ahead of the new duty.

The capacity building fund will be equally distributed to Tier 1 authorities, the accountable body under the new duty, using section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003.

The capacity building fund is not associated with the functions of the new duty and local authorities are not expected to deliver the duty before it comes into force.

Instead, this funding will help authorities prepare so that, subject to successful passage of the Bill, they can start discharging the functions of the duty effectively as soon as the duty commences. It is intended that funding for new burdens associated to the duty will be allocated to local authorities separately upon commencement in 2021.

3. Expected outcomes of this fund

Government recognises that local areas across the country vary in their response to domestic abuse and will have different governance mechanisms and frameworks in place.

Local authorities will know best what their local needs are and what works well in their area based on the local circumstances. Therefore, authorities should build local capacity in preparing for implementation the best way they see fit, and could take various approaches, including allocating some of the funding to their Tier 2 authorities should they decide to do so or working across authorities and areas.

Within this flexible approach, this fund aims to ensure that assuming the Bill passes through Parliament as anticipated, all local authorities are at an appropriate stage and ready to implement the duty in April 2021.

We recommend that Tier 1 authorities include activities in their preparation plan to reach the following outcomes:

Increased engagement with key partners in relation to the new duty at Tier 1 level

We strongly encourage Tier 1 authorities to start conversations with local experts to consider how the expected new duty will be delivered locally. Local experts and specialists include local domestic abuse sector partners, organisations supporting child victims, safe accommodation service providers, local Police and Crime Commissioners and key statutory agencies, such as health commissioners and adult and children’s social care.

Early partnership discussions at Tier 1 level will facilitate expertise and information sharing in relation to the expected new duty and help identify and address potential challenges in implementation early. It will also assist with planning the approach to the planned statutory needs assessment and the statutory local domestic abuse strategy. Engagement with relevant key partners could also enable early identification of potential members for the Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board, which Tier 1 authorities will be required to convene under the anticipated new duty.

Clear mapping of all existing local domestic abuse safe accommodation support providers, both commissioned and non-commissioned

We strongly encourage Tier 1 authorities to map which providers operate across their area, including non-commissioned and specialist services, which provide tailored support to a specific cohort. Under the new duty, authorities will be required to commission support in safe accommodation to meet the diverse needs of all victims and their children in or coming into their area. Therefore, mapping the existing services will be a critical preparatory step.

Tier 1 authorities are encouraged to gain a full understanding of the various types of safe accommodation services delivered under their footprint (e.g. communal/self-contained refuge accommodation, dispersed safe accommodation, move on accommodation and any additional provision created during COVID-19).

Tier 1 authorities are encouraged to consider any additional safe accommodation provision created during the pandemic.

Review/plan the local frameworks for delivery

We strongly encourage Tier 1 authorities to review their existing framework to consider whether any changes or adjustments are needed for local implementation and delivery of the anticipated new duty. Existing delivery mechanisms will vary from one authority to another and will depend on local circumstances. However, local authorities will be required to discharge the expected new duty and deliver specific outcomes once it commences, hence consideration of the local landscape will promote authorities’ preparedness for implementation.

Such review could include looking at what local domestic governance structures are currently in place, whether and what are the existing local strategies relevant to domestic abuse, whether and what are the current monitoring/service evaluation processes. Authorities could look at their existing commissioning arrangement and consider the best approach to service commissioning under the expected new duty. In recognition of the value of specialist services in providing support to meet diverse needs, authorities are strongly encouraged to consider whether their commissioning processes enable those services to engage.

Clarity/agreement between Tier 1/Tier 2 authorities over their roles under the duty

Tier 1 authorities are encouraged to start discussions with Tier 2 authorities regarding their roles under the anticipated new duty, particularly on how Tier 2 (as the housing authority) will work together with Tier 1 (the accountable body) to deliver the duty effectively. This could include discussions over future engagement, including attendance on the Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board, Tier 1/Tier 2 remit of service commissioning and information sharing (e.g. input relating to needs assessment, monitoring and evaluation of provision and reporting). Unitary authorities, are likewise encouraged to consider how the relevant different services within their council, including housing, will need to be involved in delivery.

Increased awareness of the new duty and engagement with MHCLG to fully understand the requirements

Through this funding, MHCLG is seeking to ensure that local authorities have capacity to properly plan for the expected duty and get the support needed to prepare for quicker and smooth implementation. MHCLG will continue to support local authorities throughout this period to improve understanding of the new requirements. We strongly encourage local authorities to approach us with questions and/or feedback about their work in planning for the duty, including insight or challenges faced. Please email DomesticAbuse.Fund@communities.gov.uk.

To improve future policy delivery and understand how funding for early preparation contributed to implementation of the policy, assuming the Bill passes successfully through Parliament, MHCLG will look to assess the impact of this fund upon commencement of the duty.

Based on current assumptions therefore, we expect that by June 2021 authorities receiving this fund will be asked to share a summary report with MHCLG, summarising how this fund has contributed to their preparation for the duty.