The Housing, Environment and Healthy Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss domestic abuse and environmental enforcement in Gateshead. Councillors were also expected to review and revise their work programme for 2025-26.

Domestic Abuse Update

The committee was scheduled to receive a report from Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health, on the progress made in addressing domestic abuse. The report, titled Domestic Abuse Overview Report, was intended to provide an overview of key achievements, ongoing initiatives, strategic priorities, and planned actions for the next year. These actions are designed to strengthen support, prevention, and partnership working across the borough.

The report pack included a Domestic Abuse Overview Powerpoint presentation, and made reference to several appendices:

• Gateshead DAT Dashboard Apr24-Mar25
• Gateshead Domestic Abuse Strategy
• Domestic Abuse Partnership Strategic Action Plan 2025-2028

The report pack noted that since 2011, Domestic Homicide Reviews (now Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews) have been a statutory requirement under Section 9, Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act, 2004¹. Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 placed a statutory duty on local authorities to ensure victim/survivors of domestic abuse, and their children, can access the right support, within refuges and other types of domestic abuse safe accommodation, when they need it. This includes:

• Conducting a local domestic abuse needs assessment
• Publishing a Safe Accommodation Strategy
• Commissioning specialist safe accommodation
• Setting up a local Domestic Abuse Partnership Board

In 2021, the Gateshead Domestic Abuse Partnership (DAP) was established to support Gateshead Council to enact its statutory duties under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

The strategy and policy function for domestic abuse sits within Community Safety, Public Health and Wellbeing, and comprises of 1 FTE Safer Communities Coordinator and 0.5 FTE Community Safety Officer. The responsibility for coordinating the Safe Accommodation element sits within Strategic Housing, supported by Community Safety.

The Gateshead Domestic Abuse Team (DAT) provides specialist advice, support and advocacy to adults, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse, including a behaviour change service for perpetrators. Between April 2024 and March 2025, Gateshead DAT received 1908 referrals, an average of 37 referrals per week, which is an increase year on year. Over 80% of referrals received support following the referral, with 42.8% being allocated to a Domestic Abuse Worker following initial advice and information.

The Gateshead Domestic Abuse Housing Outreach Workers (DAHOW) provide specialist advice, support and advocacy to people who are homeless, or at risk of being homeless, as a result of domestic abuse. Between April 2024 and March 2025, Gateshead DAHOW supported 110 households and provided Sanctuary Scheme measures to 72 households.

Gateshead Council manages all domestic abuse cases with a housing need through the homelessness route, where victim/survivors receive a homelessness assessment. Between April 2024 and March 2025, the Housing Solutions Team reported that 1386 households were accepted as being owed a homeless duty, with 282 cases being as a result of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse remains the highest reason for homelessness at 20% of all cases.

Strategic Housing currently commission Home Group to deliver Gateshead's safe accommodation provision for victim/survivors of domestic abuse. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 21 women and 11 children were supported within safe accommodation. In April 2025 Cabinet agreed Gateshead's Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy, as part of the wider Domestic Abuse Strategy. Following this, in August 2025, Gateshead Council advertised a tender for safe accommodation provision within the borough.

Public Health commission Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland for 1 FTE Counsellor to deliver specialist sexual violence counselling to 50 people per annum in Gateshead. From April 2024 to March 2025, Rape Crisis received 144 new counselling referrals for Gateshead residents.

Gateshead's first multi-agency Domestic Abuse Strategy was agreed by Cabinet in April 2025 and was officially launched at the Violence Against Women and Girls Network Event in July 2025. The Domestic Abuse Strategy sets out a clear vision to reduce domestic abuse in Gateshead, with the long-term ambition of driving it down as close to zero as possible, and for everyone in Gateshead to thrive by living a life free from abuse. The Strategy focuses on moving towards a prevention model of domestic abuse, placing an added emphasis on early intervention, preventing harm to children and young people, and tackling perpetrators to prevent further harm to victim/survivors of domestic abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Strategy and Action Plan is being delivered through the work of the DAPB and its multi-agency sub-groups. A key priority for the DAPB over the next 12 months is to review Gateshead's current domestic abuse service delivery model.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee was invited to note the report and provide feedback on data and developments to date, and to endorse the Domestic Abuse Action Plan and priorities for the next 12 months.

Environmental Enforcement

The committee was scheduled to receive a report from Kevin Scarlett, Interim Strategic Director of Housing, Environment and Healthy Communities, on the progress made to date in Environmental Enforcement and the focus over the next 12 months.

The report, titled Report Environmental Enforcement, was intended to provide an overview of enforcement powers and the council's approach, how the council is set up to deliver environmental enforcement, performance and progress, and focus areas over the next 12 months.

The report pack included a Presentation Environmental Enforcement.

Environmental enforcement activity relates to:

• Waste management issues such as fly tipping[^3] and littering, rubbish on private land, burning, processing and transferring waste and leaving out bins and 'duty of care'. [^3]: Fly tipping is the illegal dumping of waste on land.
• Highways issues such as obstructions, overhanging vegetation, cables, unauthorised skips/scaffolding, unlawful advertising, A Boards, damage or unauthorised markings, mud on the road, vehicle repairs/sales on the highway, unlawful crossings, pavement displays for the sale of goods, pavement licences for bars and cafes, licenses for the use of equipment on the highway including mobile elevating work platforms[^4], cranes, and portacabins/portaloos, abandoned vehicles, and fly grazing horses. [^4]: A mobile elevating work platform (MEWP), also known as an aerial work platform (AWP), is a mechanical device used to provide temporary access for people or equipment to inaccessible areas, usually at height.
• Issues relating to empty properties and untidy land.
• Parking contrary to parking restrictions.

The council's Enforcement Team is set up to investigate waste management issues associated with businesses, highways issues and issues relating to empty properties and untidy land.

Members have recently dedicated additional funding to environmental issues, with a contribution to enforcement, allowing the appointment of Environmental Anti- social Behaviour officers to tackle the large number of cases that relate to areas of housing, and to re-introduce enforcement activity that has not been possible over recent years due to low capacity.

Both teams work closely with the council's parking and street works team, street scene teams, Housing Officers, private housing officers, environmental protection officers and receive support from communications and legal advisors.

The increased capacity and joint work has had the effect of increasing the prevention activity carried out including the provision of targeted information, one to one support for residents and businesses and the amount of enforcement activity.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee was invited to note the report, comment on the performance and the areas of focus over the next 12 months, and endorse the area of focus over the next 12 months.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to consider a report from Angela Simmons-Mather, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Executive's Department, regarding the development of the work programme for 2025-26. The report, titled Work Programme Report, was intended to remind the OSC of the topics put forward for inclusion in the 2025-26 work programme and provide the opportunity to make any necessary revisions.

Elected Members and relevant officers have been invited to submit suggestions for inclusion in the work programme and items have been identified to date form the current work programme, set out at Appendix A.

The overview and scrutiny work programmes are set on annual basis but reviewed at each meeting to make sure that the items remain timely and that any urgent items that arise throughout the year can be incorporated into the work of the OSC. Regular reviewing of the work programmes also helps to ensure duplication across the four OSCs is avoided.

When proposing and selecting topics for inclusion in the work programme, Members are encouraged to consider the following points:

• Is it timely i.e. can scrutiny influence before a decision is taken?
• Is it an organisational priority? Does it link to Thrive?
• Will it add value/contribute to policy development?
• Does it reflect public interest?
• Will it duplicate work already being undertaken by the Council or any of its partners?
• Is there a clear intended outcome?

The Committee was invited to review the work programme and suggest any amendments as deemed necessary.