CC(3) DA23

Communities and Culture Committee

Scrutiny Inquiry : Domestic Abuse

Response from Newport Safeguarding Children Board

Call For Evidence

In Newport Community Safety Partnership there have been very strong positive links with all key partner agencies to push the domestic abuse agenda forward locally. Detailed below are how the All Wales strategy is adopted and delivered in Newport, how the work streams are prioritised and how the changing demographics of Newport impact on our rolling action plans, which is produced yearly.

As well as a good local partnership work, there are also strong links across Gwent (which consists of 5 unitary authorities) and on an All Wales basis, via the Welsh Coordinators network.

How the national strategy is delivered at a local level. The ways in which different bodies and agencies work with each other to ensure the best response

• The National strategy is predominantly delivered and monitored through the Community Safety Partnership (CSP), although links closely with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board regarding issues relating to impact on children.

• Newport CSP employ a full time Domestic Abuse Coordinator (£27,500 grant funded from Welsh Assembly Government and £5,000 Basic Command Unit funding)

• Domestic Abuse Forum is main working group for domestic abuse which consists of both statutory and non statutory agencies who are responsible for the development and delivery of the annual work plan for the CSP in line with the Welsh Assembly National strategy

• As in the All Wales strategy, Newport CSP focuses on 5 key outcomes:

• Reduce the number of domestic abuse homicides

• Reduce the prevalence of domestic abuse

• Increase the rate that domestic abuse is reported

• Increase the rate of domestic abuse offences that rate brought to justice

• Ensure victims of domestic abuse are adequately protected and supported

• The work is streamed into 3 main areas:

• Protection and support for victims

• Perpetrator accountability

• Prevention

• The working group report to the CSP Implementation group on a quarterly basis regarding progress, performance and key issues

• The working group has access to limited grant funding through BCU, However, is short term funding (up to 1 year).  

• The Gwent SDVC Management group answers directly to the Home Office and reports to the Local Criminal Justice Board and the CSP

• The Domestic Abuse Coordinator attends the LSCB and the SDVC management group and represents the CSP domestic abuse work stream.

Information sharing is key with all groups to ensure best practise is achieved and that there is no duplication of work.

(A full list of Key partners and key strategic partnerships can be found at the end of this document)

• There has been a wide range of activities that have been developed through the CSP Domestic Abuse Forum, most activities relating to children and young people have been done in conjunction with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB).

• Currently joint work is being undertaken by the Domestic Abuse Coordinator and the LSCB Business manager to develop a Domestic Violence Protocol.

Examples of work carried out is listed below:

Protection and Support for Victims

• The Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA’ s) work with high-risk victims in Newport and support them through the criminal justice system. They work within a multi agency setting to ensure all agencies do their part and co-ordinate their work to keep people safe.

Newport received £20,000 in 2006/07 and 2007/08 from the Home Office to contribute to IDVA which was match funded by the Community Safety Partnership CRASB funding

• Police Risk Assessment Tool (DV1) was introduced into Gwent Police April 2006. The tool is completed at time of a domestic violence incident where police have attended; it is then submitted by the officer in the case to the Public Protection Unit (PPU), where the form is assessed by dedicated domestic violence police officer as to the level of risk of the victim. The form asks series of questions based on SPECCS model that explores history of abuse and current circumstances, which inform officers when identifying their risk category. This information from the tool allows more individually targeted responses by agencies to ensure increase in victim safety. Very high risk cases are referred to the MARAC process.

• Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) was established in Newport in November 2006. The main aim of the MARC is to reduce the serious risk of harm or murder of a victim and to increase their safety, health and well being of the victim. MARAC Panels consists of both statutory and non-statutory agencies

In 2007/08 Gwent received Home Office funding to employ MARAC Coordinators (key to the process) this funding has been continued for a further year funded by Gwent Police.

• Antenatal Routine Enquiry Pathway introduced into Gwent. This was in response to All-Wales initiative as it is recognised fact that 30% of domestic abuse starts or escalates during pregnancy (RCOG 2004 - why Mothers Die 2000-2002)

The pathway ensures that all women attending for Antenatal care as a matter of routine are asked a series of scripted questions to encourage the disclosure of any incident of domestic abuse

Training was delivered to all midwives and health workers before the roll out of pathway in Gwent

• 'Hands Off’ Group is a project developed in Newport and is joint run by NSPCC and Newport Womens Aid. The group works with children aged 7-12 years who have been affected by domestic abuse and is in a group therapeutic setting. Running parallel to the children’s group there is a mothers group that works with the mothers on issues regarding self-confidence and esteem.

The group has run for 3 years and has been well attended. To date only internal evaluations have taken place but have shown positive feedback from the service users.

The group has been predominantly funded through Cymorth (awarded £75,000 in total over 3 years) with top up funding from Newport CSP.

Funding has ended but currently revaluating programme structure and has submitted expression of interest for funding to the Home Office for consideration to fund for further year.

• Monitor level of children on the CP register: Since 2006, the Child protection Unit has kept records of the numbers of children placed on the Child protection register where Domestic Abuse was a significant factor. Additionally in November 2007 an analysis of numbers of children who had been placed on the CPR during 2005-7 was completed. From a sample of 323 children 33.2% had been placed on the CPR mainly, if not solely, because of Domestic Abuse.

• CAFFCASS Cymru has a primary responsibility to safeguard and promote the best interests of children, through its role of providing independent social work advice and assistance to the Court in Family Law Proceedings. CAFFCASS has put priority to issue of domestic abuse and the impact on children and young people and have introduced such initiatives such as the domestic abuse toolkit in 2006 and the Inter-Parental Conflict Assessment Pack

• Domestic abuse forum directory on website aimed at both service users and practitioners, as a local reference guide. The website offers basic safety planning advice as well as a searchable database for service providers both locally and nationally

The website is currently in process of being revamped on basis of feedback from service users by a local university.

Funding for the website design is through CSP at total cost of £300 with £50 annual maintenance cost.

• Work Place Policies. All Domestic Abuse Forum members have worked towards putting a work place policy in place to protect staff that are suffering from or have been subject to domestic abuse. For example statutory agencies which have polices are; Local Authority, Health and Police.

The provision of services for adults and children who have suffered sexual abuse within a domestic abuse context:

• Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) is based in Risca for adult victims received £70,000 setup costs from the Welsh assembly Government. The police authority funds running costs currently.

Risca SARC offers adult victims of sexual crime and integrated service (Police, Health and New Pathways) where the victims can receive medical care, psychological counselling, legal advice and other support in one place by professionally trained people.

Plans being developed to work in Partnership with Cardiff Children’s hospital to use SARC specifically setup for children.

• Gwent Police have Domestic Violence Liaison Officers (DVLO’s) and Sexual Offence Liaison Officers (SOLO’s) which are specially trained to support victims of domestic violence and sexual violence.

• Victim Support, Newport have access to specially trained staff to support victims of sexual violence and domestic violence, including supporting children.

• Social Services buy in counselling services for children affected by sexual abuse. There is a noted lack of post counselling services which is low cost or easily accessible to the Local Authority

Also have access to child psychologist to work with children on a one to one basis in a therapeutic setting

Perpetrator Accountability

• The Specialist Domestic Violence Court (SDVC) Programme is a co-ordinated response to domestic abuse that combines both the criminal justice interventions and non criminal justice interventions. Together they form a multi agency response that creates greater victim safety and brings more perpetrators to account.

After a success national pilot in Caerphilly the SDVC programme rolled out across the 5 unitary authorities in Gwent and in December 2006 recognised by the Home Office as best practise for roll out areas (court area covering more than one local authority)

Home Office funding £70,000 to setup cost of the courts system

The CPS hold scrutiny panels that randomly selects cases to be reviewed, currently only CPS involvement being reviewed, plans to review entire cases and all agency involvement (both Statutory and non statutory) being put into place.

• Domestic abuse awareness training Magistrates and CJ staff as part of the SDVC programme on a pan Gwent basis training was delivered in form briefing sessions and use of interactive theatre production by Geese Theatre (funded through set up costs awarded by Home Office)

• Policing operations pilot ran in Newport to target outstanding arrests and to put dedicated domestic violence police team together to respond to incidents on an international football day (where evidence has shown in incident figures that there is a rise of domestic abuse reported to the police)

• Mandatory Integrated Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (IDAP) is run by the National Probation Service, Gwent. As part of a court order perpetrators can be sentenced to attend IDAP, which is a rolling programme over a 27-week period. This seeks to challenge and change controlling behaviour.

There are currently 4 programmes being run throughout Gwent. Demand at present for the course out ways supply due to limited resources and availability of male facilitors there are approximately 80 people waiting to go on IDAP, each course can take a maximum of 12 men at any one time.

• Non Mandatory Perpetrator Programme has been identified as an area, which needs to be developed; a pan Gwent bid was submitted to the Welsh assembly to pilot a programme across the 5 unitary authorities however was unsuccessful. Perpetrator programme have been raised as a focus area for the Newport Domestic Abuse Forum in 2008/09

Prevention

• Safer Relationships. A Pan Gwent initiative that received £xxx grant funding from the Home Office which commissioned Gwent Theatre to offer schools in the Gwent area a performance entitled 'A Lizards Tale’ and funding the development of a 'safer relations’ toolkit for use for any practioners who work with secondary school age children for example schools and youth groups. The pack is about to be circulated for use in Newport

• Multi agency training is delivered through the CSP and is free for agencies to attend (venue costs meet by the CSP BCU fund). This offers basic awareness-raising sessions that then enable access to 4 day accredited training in Gwent.

• Mentoring project for boys in refuge. A Newport base pilot is set to commence in September 2008 working with boys (provisional set age 7-15) to recruit mentors to work with young boys in refuges to give positive role models. The cost for the project has been applied through the CSP but will cover pay for session work, on costs and recruitment costs for a 6 month trial which will be independently evaluated by the University of Wales, Newport.

• Forced marriage and HBV training in conjunction with BAWSO and the Foreign Office Forced Marriage Unit training is due to be delivered to Front line staff in May 2008. When delivered the CSP domestic abuse co-ordinator will be able to cascade the Foreign Office training package to all partner agencies free of charge in partnership with BAWSO

Cases recorded of people fleeing forced marriage or honour based violence has increased over the last two years (in 2007 there were 4 cases of forced marriages presented to the police in 2008 so far their has been 5 cases reported to the police)

The availability and availability of support for different groups: including counselling services for men, women, children, people from ethnic minority communities, older people and disabled people

Other services in Newport that are not previously mentioned include:

• Dyn Project, National Support helpline for Male victims which now operates across Wales which is funded by the Welsh assembly Government

• Newport Mind offers support to people with mental health difficulties, whom may be suffering from domestic violence, or be the perpetrator of domestic violence. Newport MIND supports people by enabling individuals to access appropriate services

• Women’s Aid and BAWSO refuges in Newport comply with he Disability Act

• Bobby Van trust offers target hardening service to all victims of crime and those deemed as vulnerable, including those suffering from domestic abuse. The trust has access to an unmarked van for domestic abuse victims and all carpenters have received domestic abuse awareness training and have also received cultural awareness training. The Bobby Van information is printed in all the key different community languages and available in different formats.

The impact of isolation exacerbated by geographical, Cultural and Individual factors specific to Newport

• Newport City is geographically quite a compact area with public transport to all local amenities, hospitals etc.

• Newport has 3 refuges, managed by Women’s Aid and Black association of Womens’ Step Out (BAWSO)

• There is very limited space in refuge provision and housing provision for people who do not have access to public funding (for example those on spousal visa’s or migrant workers who have been working in the UK for less than a year)

• Newport is 4 dispersal areas for Asylum Seekers in Wales with approximately 450 bed spaces 444 are currently occupied

• There are 40 plus different languages spoken in the city, predominately these are Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Chinese, Polish, Czech / Slovak, Arabic, Somali. English is second language to most of the groups

• There are currently approximately 275 Refuges in Newport area (estimate taken 015008)

• In Newport with regards to migrant workers Conservative estimate based on National insurance numbers (NINO) is1250 people (estimate taken 010508)

• Migrant worker researcher seconded on behalf on the Welsh Assembly Government estimated figure of migrant workers in Newport in region of 2500 people (estimate take 010508)

• Limited ESOL courses in Newport due to increase in demand which therefore potential isolates individual identifying accessing support service due to language barriers.

Consideration

• Currently there is no standardisation across Wales in achieving the aims and objectives set out the All Wales strategy and there are not yet any agreed minimum standards or performance measures for partners agencies relating to domestic abuse except for those set out in the Home Office Violence action plan which measure criminal justice data.

Additional Information

Summary of ongoing funding for CSP, Welsh Assembly and Home Office funding

Domestic Abuse Coordinator - Welsh Assembly (£27,500 per anum) and Basic Command Unit Funding (£5,000)
Independent Domestic Violence Advisor - CSP CRASB Funding (£35,000)
Refuge/ Tenancy support provision in Newport-Welsh Assembly SPRG (£418,348)

Other funding sources

MARAC Co-ordinator - Gwent Police (£25,000)

Domestic Abuse  - Key partners in Newport CSP

• DV Coordinator - CSP

• Independent Domestic Violence Advisor - CSP

• Community Safety - Newport City Council

• Children and Family Services - Newport City Council

• Housing - Newport City Council

• Housing - Charter Housing

• Education - Newport City Council

• Domestic Violence - Gwent Police

• Schools Liaison - Gwent Police

• Gwent Probation

• Gwent NHS Trust

• Women’s Aid

• NSPCC

• Kaleidoscope

• Gwent Alcohol Project

• Newport Mind

• Surestart

• BAWSO

• Crown Prosecution Service

• HMCS

Key Strategic Partnerships

• Children and Young People Partnership

• Local Safe Guarding Children’s Board

• Pan Gwent Domestic Abuse Forum

• Health Domestic Abuse Forum

• Pan Gwent Domestic Abuse Forum

• SDVC Management group

Susanne Richards, Domestic Abuse Coordinator, Newport Domestic Abuse Forum
Judith Dunn, Business manager, Newport Safeguarding Children Board

May 2008.