LGA response: The National Statement of Expectations (NSE) 2016 for VAWG commissioning outlines a set of principles, which work well for all victim support services that are commissioned nationally and locally:
- Put the victim at the centre of service delivery;
- Have a clear focus on perpetrators in order to keep victims safe;
- Take a strategic, system-wide approach to commissioning;
- Are locally-led and safeguard individuals at every point;
- Raise local awareness of the issues and involve, engage and empower communities to seek, design and deliver solutions to prevent VAWG/ the crime.
As the NSE states, every victim, whether adult or child, is an individual with different experiences, reactions and needs. Local areas should ensure that services are flexible and responsive to the victim’s experience and voice.
It is helpful that where commissioning frameworks are established by central Government, that they are consistent across all Government departments, and work with the agencies involved in commissioning and victims directly – to ensure they are fit for purpose.
If we want to ensure these commissioning principles are implemented in practice, this requires long-term sustainable funding. Short-term one-off Government grants, with varying bidding criteria, from multiple Government departments contributes to the varied and sporadic nature of local commissioning.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s office has outlined that the scale and prevalence of domestic abuse, as well as the impact of the pandemic means that the demand for services still far outstrips provision of the most tailored, holistic forms of support to victims and survivors. A failure to invest in these services can lead to further long-term costs for the Government. When finalised in Spring 2022, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s mapping work will help to provide a more accurate sense of the total amount required to fund community-based services.
Whilst this consultation has identified domestic abuse, sexual violence and serious violence as the three main areas of focus for victim support services, councils and their partners may commission services that work across all these crime types and more.
For many councils, the most pertinent form of serious violence locally will be domestic abuse. So it is difficult to categorise one support service as “serious violent crime”, as that definition will vary from area to area.
With regards to commissioning, we have called for greater investment in community-based support, including early intervention and prevention services, as well as investment and research into perpetrator programmes. We’ve also called for the Violence Reduction Unit model to be expanded to all police forces areas, and to receive long-term adequate funding.
According to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s findings, seventy per cent of victims of domestic abuse who access support do so via community-based services, many of whom will never need to access higher cost refuge accommodation if the interventions are successful. Community-based services can include specialist advocacy support, welfare and immigration advice and mental health support – and there is often a high level of overlap between these two services.
Specific and dedicated support for children and young people is often underdeveloped e.g. in the domestic abuse space, and there are known challenges in accessing child and adolescent mental health services which are required to support children in their recovery.