Content

8.1

The Committee considered a report of
the Strategic Director of Adult Care and Wellbeing
and the Head of Commissioning – Vulnerable
People. 
 
The report aimed to seek agreement to
recommission the Domestic Abuse Community Based Support
Contract.
 
Using data from the Crime Survey of
England and Wales it is likely that around 23,860 adult victims in
Sheffield have experienced Domestic Abuse in the last year. It is
widely recognised that Domestic Abuse has long term harmful
impacts.
 
The Domestic Abuse Community Based
Support Contract offering one to one, helpline and group support is
currently delivered by IDAS. The contract started in April 2019 and
is due to end in March 2024. Due to this, recommissioning therefore
needs to start in 2023 to enable a service to continue to be
delivered.

 

 

8.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the
Adult Health and Social Care Policy Committee:-

 

 

 

1.   
Approves the recommission, via a contract with an external
provider, of domestic abuse community-based support as outlined in
this report.
 

2.   
Requests that a report on outcomes and impact of the
recommissioning exercise is brought to Committee.

 

 

8.3

Reasons for
Decision

 

 

8.3.1
 
 
 
 
 
8.3.2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8.3.3

Domestic Abuse affects thousands of
people in Sheffield each year. It is a cause of physical and
emotional harm, and trauma that is long lasting both to adults and
their children. It is also a huge cost to services in the city.
Providing support at an early stage will contribute to the overall
goal of prevention of harm and promotion of wellbeing in the
city.
 
Sheffield’s response to
domestic abuse has been recognised as something to be proud of.
Recommissioning the community-based support contract, through a
process of co-production will enable the offer to improve and
ensure tailored support for victims / survivors and their families
that enable them to be safer, recover and move on with their lives
and contribute fully to their communities and the city.
 
 
It is intended that the outcomes will
be:
 
• Easily accessible support that
enables engagement at an earlier stage for victims/survivors
• Online resources for those
that can access them promoting guided self-help.
• Tailored support that reduces
risk and increases the safety of victims and their children.
• Support for victims to stay
safe in their homes and prevent them from moving due to the abuse
or becoming homeless.
• Effective support groups that
enable recovery from the impact of domestic abuse • A wider
workforce that are trained to enable them to respond to disclosures
of domestic abuse in a safe and trauma informed way.
• Higher levels of awareness,
and empathy for victims / survivors, and lack of tolerance for
abusive behaviour supported by community champions e.g., in
services that go into people’s homes

 

 

8.4

Alternatives
Considered and Rejected

 

 

8.4.1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8.4.2
 
 
 
8.4.3

The Council could decide to not
recommission the service however this would mean that support
available for those affected by domestic abuse would be very
limited and may not meet the standard required by the Domestic
Abuse Act 2021. There is also a statutory duty on the Safer
Sheffield Partnership to conduct Domestic Homicide Reviews and
report these to the Home Office. If there were no commissioned
community-based services, the number of domestic homicides would be
likely to rise over time.
 
Reducing the funds available for
recommissioning would also be inadvisable as demand exceeds the
needs in the city already. The capacity of the existing service has
also reduced due to cost-of-living issues affecting all
employers.
 
The current contract is working well:
promoting safety, addressing trauma and enabling recovery. Partners
value the service and feedback is generally good.