Decision details

RESOLVED that: -

(a)           Cabinet supports the BCP Community Safety Partnership Preventing Domestic Abuse Strategy and Delivery Plan; and

(b)           Cabinet approves the allocation of MHCLG grant funding as set out in paragraph 32 of the report.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Community Safety

Reason

Domestic abuse can and does happen to anyone. It is indiscriminate of age, gender, race, profession or social background. In the UK around one in four women and one in six men will be affected by domestic abuse in their lifetime, and the NSPCC reports that around one in five children have been exposed

to domestic abuse. Whatever the number of those impacted, it is too many; no one should live in fear.

The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Community Safety Partnership (CSP) is fully committed to playing its part to change this and to achieve the vision that ‘no resident living in BCP should live in fear of or experience domestic abuse’.

BCP Council’s Corporate Strategy also commits to an ambitious vision of ‘Vibrant Communities with outstanding quality of life where everyone plays an active role’ and sets a specific objective of supporting people to live safe and independent lives under its Fulfilled Lives priority.

The BCP Preventing Domestic Abuse Strategy takes account of the strategic aims of the Council as well as the CSP. Local needs analysis, national research, guidance and best practice and lessons learnt from Domestic Homicide Reviews as well as consultation and extensive engagement across a range of stakeholders has resulted in a strategy which outlines a commitment to work with a range of partners across the statutory, corporate, community and voluntary sectors as well as service users, to drive the strategy forward and

deliver against those aims.

The Partnership has completed a series of task and finish groups responsible for supporting the development of a comprehensive delivery plan, appended to this report.

In addition, this strategy and the accompanying delivery plan meet the new requirements of local authorities by the Domestic Abuse Bill 2020 by providing a framework to improve the response from statutory partners to domestic abuse. MHCLG is providing tier1 local authorities with grant funding to ensure they can meet new statutory duties.