Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting on 04 July 2023, requested a report on the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) Accreditation and an update on the recommendations made by the Domestic Abuse Review Group. Cllr Mark Lygo, Cabinet Member for Safer and Inclusive Communities, Richard Adams, Community Safety Service Manager and Liz Jones, ASBIT Manager & Domestic Abuse Lead have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Committee is asked to consider the report, note and comment on progress against the recommendations of the Domestic Abuse Review Group and agree any recommendations in relation to the DAHA Accreditation element of the report.

Cllr Mark Lygo, Cabinet Member for Inclusive and Safer Communities presented the report on the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) Accreditation and an update on the recommendations made by the Domestic Abuse Review Group.  He highlighted that Cabinet had agreed with the majority of the 48 Domestic Abuse Review Group recommendations, which were endorsed by the Scrutiny Committee on 02 March 2021, and provided an update on progress made against these recommendations since the previous update to the Committee on 05 April 2022. The report also included an update on progress made towards the DAHA accreditation. Cllr Lygo thanked former Cabinet Member, Cllr Shaista Aziz, for her previous work to get to this stage.

Liz Jones, ASBIT Manager & Domestic Abuse Lead provided further detail on the recommendations that had been agreed in part and the Committee was advised that, of the recommendations that had not been agreed, the majority were not agreed as there were practices or policies already in place.

The Scrutiny Officer advised the Committee that advice had been provided by the Head of Law and Governance in relation to recommendation 40, which had been agreed by Cabinet at the time but did not appear to have been actioned. She advised that the Constitution was a Council matter rather than a Cabinet matter and that the inclusion of a requirement that Members did not perpetrate domestic abuse was not something that the Council could add to the Constitution or the Code of Conduct, as it did not relate to Members’ role as a councillor and the Council did not have the power to set requirements related to Members’ personal capacity. Consideration had been given to the matter, in line with the recommendation, but it could not be taken forward.

Richard Adams, Community Safety Service Manager also attended the meeting to speak to the item and answer the Committee’s questions.

During discussions, the Committee noted the following:

·       Regarding recommendation 20, the safe accommodation project included refuge provision, the Sanctuary Scheme and Places of Safety.  It did not include Temporary Accommodation, and when anyone was placed in a hotel.  Some support was provided to those in hotels with an aim to move them out as quickly as possible within the constraints of available Council accommodation, however this still needs improving.

·       Domestic abuse training was delivered to all staff as part of mandatory Safeguarding training.  Training for staff had been delivered in the past two years, additional sessions were being rolled out in 2024.  Training specifically for managers would also be available.  There were also 23 Domestic Abuse Champions across the Council to provide support if required.

·       Support was provided in collaboration with voluntary sector agencies, and any cases where there were concerns about the provision of support would be investigated on an individual basis if escalated to the Community Safety Team and/or Cabinet Member for Inclusive and Safer Communities.

·       It was anticipated that the DAHA accreditation would be achieved by March 2025, before the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities funding came to an end, and would therefore not be affected by any funding restrictions.  However, there would be ongoing costs to retain the accreditation, so this could be impacted dependent on the availability of funding.

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendations on the report to Cabinet:

1. That the Council investigates and assesses the adequacy and clarity of the support and signposting provided to victims and survivors of domestic abuse housed in safe and/or temporary accommodation.
2. That the Council proactively lobbies Central Government based on the horrific lived experiences of Oxford residents, stressing the urgent need for additional resources to support the Council in meeting its new statutory obligations relating to domestic abuse.
3. That the Council ensures that the lived experiences of children are captured and addressed by the Council through its domestic abuse work.
4. That the Council delivers domestic abuse training annually to Members going forward and appoints a Member as Domestic Abuse Champion.