Purpose

This report seeks approval to extend the existing three rounds of grants awarded under the Domestic Abuse Support within Safe Accommodation Small Grants Programme. The proposed extensions will align all funded projects to a common end date of 31 March 2027, ensuring consistency across the programme.

Decision

For the reasons set out in this report, the Corporate Director has decided to:

1)    Approve the extension of the existing three rounds of grant funding awarded under the Domestic Abuse Support within Safe Accommodation Small Grants Programme, aligning all projects to conclude on 31 March 2027.

2)    Approve the continuation of funding to the 11 organisations listed at Appendix 1 to enable delivery of their current projects throughout the extension period, ensuring ongoing provision of support in line with the requirements of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Do not extend the existing grants, ceasing funding for all current projects at the end of their existing grant periods. This option has been dismissed as it is likely to place the Council at risk of not meeting its statutory duties under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 in relation to the provision of domestic abuse support within safe accommodation. The removal of funding would result in the loss of established services delivering evidenced positive outcomes and create significant disruption for vulnerable individuals, including those with complex needs. It would also place additional pressure on Temporary Accommodation services, as current projects play a key role in supporting victim survivors to remain safely in their own homes or access appropriate accommodation, thereby preventing homelessness. In addition, this option would limit the Council’s ability to gather further evidence to inform the Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment and future commissioning plans.

Option 2: Extend all existing grants and align to a common end date (Recommended Option), extending all current grants across the three rounds to align to a single end date of 31 March 2027, with two projects incorporated into existing programmes. This option ensures continuity of provision, avoids disruption to vulnerable service users, and maintains a comprehensive range of services across different cohorts. It supports the Council in meeting its statutory duties while preventing additional pressure on Temporary Accommodation and other statutory services. It also enables the continued collection of robust performance and outcomes data to inform the Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment, which will underpin future commissioning plans and the strategic allocation of the Safe Accommodation Grant. The consolidation of two projects further strengthens value for money, programme oversight, and consistency of monitoring.