Purpose

Approval is sought to support the enaction of
a 1-year extension to the contract held with Staffordshire
Women’s Aid to support victims of domestic abuse in their
refuge and dispersed accommodation in Stafford.

The contract term was for an initial period of 2.5 years (1st
October 2023 – 31st -March 2026) with an optional 1-year
extension period. We are looking to execute the 1-year extension
period, from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2027.

Content

The Council should agree to extend the
contract for a 1-year period, namely 1st April 2026 – 30th
March 2027. The service is performing well, and this extension
period will allow for SCC to review the updated evidence base,
develop a new strategy and then review the service offer.

Staffordshire County Council has a statutory duty under Part 4 of
the Domestic Abuse Act to provide support in relevant
accommodation. Within Staffordshire there are five refuges with
linked dispersal units and Staffordshire Women’s Aid run a
purpose-built refuge and 4 dispersed units in Stafford.

Approval is formally sought to ensure that the Provider is given
sufficient notice of contract extension and services can continue
to be delivered.

Alternative options considered

The alternative to enacting this contract
extension would be to let the contract end on 31st March 2026 and
complete a recommissioning exercise. However, given the unique
situation with safe accommodation, whereby our Duties and
associated funding is for the support element only, we can only
commission contracts to providers who already have the relevant
accommodation in place. We are actively engaged with our district
and borough council colleagues who would have knowledge or any
other safe accommodation settings due to the Housing Benefit
funding for the ‘bricks and mortar’ element of safe
accommodation, and there is no knowledge of any other refuges or
other types of safe accommodation settings in Staffordshire.
Therefore, we would be going out to tender, and the only eligible
providers in the market are those we already hold contracts
with.

A refreshed needs assessment was finalised in June, the findings
from which will be utilised to develop a new Staffordshire DA
Strategy with a specific section focussed on support in safe
accommodation. The findings from this work are key in shaping the
support services for DA victims in safe accommodation as it is
vital the services reflect the needs of service users. Given the
time frame between now and the end of the contract, there is not
sufficient time to complete a full recommissioning exercise and as
this is a statutory duty, we cannot have a gap in service which
this is completed. Therefore, the most appropriate solution is to
extend the current contract while that work is undertaken.