The Chair introduced the report which set out updates made to the Domestic Abuse (DA) Policy in legislation and minor changes due to best practice in domestic abuse work.

The Chair invited Members to make comments, and these included:

·         Welcomed the report and thanked officers involved in writing it;

·         this was one of the Council’s policies that would really make a difference and could potentially save lives;

·         referred to a recent report in the press about domestic violence, noted that suicide as a result of DA was often under reported and cases were sometimes overlooked;

·         it was very important that the policy remained a priority going forward beyond the Council devolution;

·         reports of DA had risen which was positive in one way as it meant that victims had the courage to speak out against it;

·         considered it could be beneficial to have a survivor’s point of view;

·         a performance dashboard would help to monitor how quickly help was received and actions taken;

·         this was a really important policy;

·         recognised the really good work that officers had carried out and the difference the team made, considered them to be ‘unsung’ heroes;

·         welcomed the policy which was well laid out, straightforward to read, and liked that the report did not include pictures and suggested future policies should be set out in this way;

·         other organisations, such as ‘White Ribbon’ also had an invaluable part to play, alongside the Council;

·         clarification sought on whether there was any data in terms of connections between DA/perpetrators/triggers/the failing National Health Service (NHS) and the mental health crisis;

·         did any data outline a need for additional safe refuge in the Borough?;

·         considered refuge placements should be included in the housing needs assessment of the Local Plan, without sacrificing social housing;

·         DA was part of larger, cultural matters including mental health issues, lack of support from the NHS, social media use in schools; and

·         the Council was fortunate that many parts of the organisation worked together as a team to resolve DA throughout the borough.

In response, the Safeguarding Team Lead/ASB Officer referred to the press article and said the picture was much bigger than the victims themselves, and research was being carried out around wider family members, with officers working with local partners on this issue; she acknowledged a need to do more on shared experiences, there were lived experience people who the Council worked with and KCC had just carried out a large piece of work on this and there was a lot to be learnt from that project.  In terms of a performance dashboard, the safeguarding team produced a performance report per quarter and she said the team were assessed and scrutinised on many aspects, and the team were tenacious and always challenged cases and escalated them.  With regard to Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (DARA), this was already being looked at by a county level group.  Learning from serious case reviews were published on a public accessible portal via KMSAB and KSCMP websites.  Newsletters were also produced and these could be shared with Members.  In response to statements about education abuse she said that KCC were looking into this and she could ask them for more information about their findings.  The Safeguarding Team Lead/ASB Officer thanked Members for their comments and praise, and she spoke on the wider team that worked together at the Council with victims of domestic abuse.

The Head of Housing and Communities said the Local Plan team were updating the housing market assessment so research on the need for refuge placements could be linked with that.  She advised that some new funding had recently been received for a supported housing strategy, and refuge placements could form a part of this work.

The Chair referred to the Abbey School, Faversham where 100 students had recently volunteered to be Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Champions and she acknowledged and praised the team’s gold accreditation as a massive achievement.

Councillor Lloyd Bowen referred to paragraph 3.3 in the report and suggested, for inclusivity, the sentence ended after ‘for all’, so that it would read: ‘SBC recognises that domestic abuse can be experienced by anyone, and we will ensure an appropriate response for all’.  This was agreed by the Committee.

Resolved:

(1)      That the revised Domestic Abuse Policy refresh be noted and adopted, as amended – paragraph 3.3 ‘SBC recognises that domestic abuse can be experienced by anyone, and we will ensure an appropriate response for all’.