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.

Decision

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.