Purpose

The purpose of this report is to seek Cabinet
approval to allocate the remaining unallocated Department for
Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Domestic Abuse section
31 grant funding for 2021/22 – 2024/25 (the “Domestic
Abuse Grant”) for the purpose of enabling the council to meet
its statutory duties under part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act
2021.

Decision

Cllr Stephan Fifield sought Cabinet approval to allocate the
remaining unallocated Department for Levelling Up Housing and
Communities (DLUHC) Domestic Abuse section 31 grant funding for
2021/22 – 2024/25 of £1.286m (the “Domestic Abuse
Grant”) for the purpose of enabling the council to meet its
statutory duties under part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act
2021.
 
Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the
report and
 
 
RESOLVED to:
 
1.
Approve the allocation of up to £1,274,500 from the
council’s Domestic Abuse Grant for the delivery of support in
domestic abuse safe accommodation and to contribute towards the
associated administrative burdens in meeting the council’s
duties under part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Recommendations
2-7 below set out the use of this funding.

2.
Approve the allocation of £366,000 (£122,000 per annum)
from the Domestic Abuse Grant for the purpose of funding the cost
of the contract described in Recommendation 3.

3.
Approve the direct award of a three year contract (commencing 1
April 2025) to Stroud Beresford Group for the provision of support
for adult and child victims of domestic abuse in refuge
accommodation using the resources described in Recommendation
2.

4.
Delegates authority to the Director of Public Health, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Delivery
to:
 
(a)
allocate £336,000 from the Domestic Abuse Grant for the
purpose of funding the call-off contract described in
Recommendation 4(b); and (b) award a Call-Off Contract for the
supply of Support in Safe Accommodation to the sole appointed
supplier under Lot B of the council’s proposed
Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) Single
Provider Framework Agreement (which shall be the subject of a
separate Cabinet Decision also schedule for 24 July 2024) using the
resources described in Recommendation 4(a). The proposed Call-Off
Contract shall continue for a period of one year.
 
 
5.
Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health in consultation
with the Lead Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Delivery to
allocate a maximum of £342,500 on the basis set out in
Recommendations 5 (a) to (c) via Gloucester City Council (as the
host local authority for the Housing Partnership Team which acts on
behalf of the District and County Councils, the Gloucestershire
Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and the
Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB)) to be used at district
level for funding the following activities:

(a)
£190,000 for the purpose of funding the provision of domestic
abuse support in a pilot Respite Rooms scheme over a maximum period
of three years (see paragraphs 18-19 of this report for background
details of the proposed scheme). The amount proposed is indicative
at this stage as it will be determined by the Director of Public
Health based on the agreed delivery model and length of the
proposed Respite Rooms pilot scheme.

(b)
£125,000 for the purpose of providing funding, during a two
year period commencing from the date of transfer of such funding to
contribute towards the administration costs incurred by whichever
two of Cheltenham Borough Council, Cotswold District Council,
Forest of Dean District Council, Gloucester City Council, Stroud
District Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council are selected by the
Gloucestershire Housing Partnership to carry out the system and
policy work that is needed for completing tranche one of the
Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) accreditation for district
council Housing Services described in paragraph 25 of this report.
The amount is indicative at this stage as it is subject to the
council receiving confirmation from the selected local authorities
of their estimated staffing costs.
 
(c)
£27,500 for the purposes of continuing to fund the
appointment of two countywide Domestic Abuse Intervention Officers
(DAIOs) who will work across all the district councils in
Gloucestershire during the period 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025. The
amount is indicative at this stage because the relevant local
authorities will need to confirm the pro-rata staffing costs for
the period above.

6.
Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Children’s
Services to:

(a)
allocate £200,000 from the Domestic Abuse Grant for the
purpose of funding the cost of the call-off contracts described in
Recommendation 6(b);

(b)
procure and award, subject to the financial limit set out in
Recommendation 6(a) above, over a period of up to two years
expiring 1 September 2027, as many call-off contracts under the
council’s Access to Resources Framework Agreement as may be
required for the provision of trauma recovery therapeutic support
services for children and young people accessing domestic abuse
safe accommodation.

7.
Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health in consultation
with the Lead Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Delivery to
allocate up to £30,000 from the Domestic Abuse Grant for the
purposes of contributing to Gloucestershire County Council’s
administrative costs during the period 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025
in meeting its statutory duties under part 4 of the Domestic Abuse
Act 2021. The amount is indicative at this stage as the council and
the OPCC (as host for the joint funded roles described in paragraph
47 of this report) will need to agree the prorate staffing costs
for such roles during the period.