MD2788 Domestic abuse duty and funding

1.1 Under the current approach to delivering accommodation with support for victims of domestic abuse, funding and commissioning is almost entirely at a local authority level. In addition, provision has been supplemented by relatively modest Government funding, made available through short-term bidding rounds and, in London, by grants provided by London Councils (through borough contributions). This approach does not work well for a vulnerable group whose need for accommodation-based services is usually best met outside their local area, who often require very specialised support, and whose numbers are, for some sub-groups, too low to make local specialist provision viable.

1.2 The current approach results in an overall shortage of an estimated 320 refuge spaces London, which means two-thirds of people referred to a refuge are turned away. There are particularly severe shortages for specific groups, such as people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), some BAME groups, LGBT+ people, young women, disabled people, male victims, and people with multiple needs.

1.3 Furthermore, the current approach is characterised by:

• a lack of strategic oversight and planning across areas;

• marked variations, unrelated to need, in the level of provision commissioned by different local authorities;

• the quality of provision and commissioning not being consistently high across all areas;

• some local authorities restricting access to the provision they fund to local people;

• a lack of opportunity to trial innovative forms of provision;

• short-term funding negatively impacting on service delivery and outcomes; and

• difficulties aligning capital funding for developing additional provision with revenue funding for support.

1.4 The Mayor’s London Housing Strategy and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy contain commitments to ensuring a more strategic approach to the provision of accommodation and support for victims of VAWG, to address the issues outlined above.

1.5 In 2019, the Government consulted on proposals to enable a more strategic approach to accommodation and support for victims of domestic abuse and their children. Subsequently, the Domestic Abuse Bill (the Bill) was introduced in Parliament in July 2019 and given a Second Reading in October but then fell with the dissolution of Parliament. On 3 March 2020 the Bill was reintroduced and has progressed through Parliament. The Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent on either 1 April 2021 or very soon afterwards. The Bill will be at Report Stage in the House of Lords on 8 March 2021, and therefore the Bill is well advanced. It is possible that the proposed new legislation in Part 4 of the Bill will be in force on 1 April 2021, but it may take a little longer and come into force around mid-late June 2021.

1.6 The Bill contains a number of proposals set out in Part 4 to help transform the response to domestic abuse, help to prevent offending, protect victims and ensure they have the support they need. In particular, it is anticipated that Part 4 will place a new duty on Tier 1 authorities in England (in London, the GLA is a Tier 1 authority) to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation. It will also place a new duty on Tier 2 authorities (which in London are the London borough councils) to cooperate with the Tier 1 authority.

1.7 The GLA’s key functions, as currently set out in the Bill, when the new legislation is in force, will be to:

• appoint a domestic abuse local multi-agency partnership board which it will consult as it performs the following functions (the Bill sets out the key agencies and interests that must be represented on the partnership board);

• assess, or make arrangements for the assessment of, the need for domestic abuse support in its area (domestic abuse support means support, in relation to domestic abuse, provided to victims of domestic abuse, or their children, who reside in relevant accommodation);

• prepare, publish and keep under review a strategy for the provision of such support in London;

• monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy;

• give effect to the strategy in carrying out its functions through commissioning and decommissioning decisions; and

• after the end of each financial year, submit an annual report to the Secretary of State in relation to the exercise of the GLA’s new duties during the year.

1.8 Statutory guidance relating to the exercise of functions under Part 4 will be published. There will also be a standardised needs assessment framework.

1.9 In October 2020, the Government consulted on the allocation mechanisms for the two streams of funding that will made available to tier 1 and tier 2 authorities to implement their respective duties:

• administration funding for implementing the duty (for tier 1 and 2 authorities)

• support funding for the cost of the commissioned services (for tier 1 authorities only).

1.10 On 10 February 2021, the Government published its response to that consultation and the allocations that will be made to each authority in 2021/22 from the £125m nationally set out in the 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review. The GLA’s allocation from 1 April 2021 is a total of £20,688,230, to cover both administration and support. In addition, London borough councils will receive £1,237,371 administration funding.

1.11 In recent years, MHCLG has grant-funded (Tier 2) local authorities directly to provide support to victims in safe accommodation, with 2020/21 being the final year of this arrangement. To ensure continuity of London services, it is proposed that grant funding is made available for the whole of 2021/22 to the 21 councils receiving Government funding for support to those in safe accommodation in 2020/21. This will amount to up to £5,000,000 and will come out of the GLA’s overall allocation for 2020/21.

1.12 On 1 April 2021, the MHCLG will allocate the funding amount of £20,688,230 to the GLA to implement activities set out in the proposed new duties in the Bill throughout 2021/22, whether or not the new duties are in force at that point.

1.13 If the Bill has not been enacted by 1 April 2021, MHCLG will require the GLA to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) setting out the activities that it expects the GLA to undertake during the period from 1 April 2021 until the date that the new legislation is in force. It is anticipated that those activities will be the same as those set out in the Bill.

1.14 Since October 2020, the GLA, working with MOPAC, has been preparing for the new duty, supported by £50,000 of MHCLG funding and with a consultant assisting them to do so (approved via ADD2474). This work includes devising a draft workplan and making recommendations on the nature, extent and location of staffing and other resources that will be needed to administer the duty and the arrangements for the needs assessment, the strategy and the partnership board and wider stakeholder engagement.

1.15 It is proposed that MOPAC will provide professional support to assist the GLA to discharge its forthcoming new duty (either set out in the enacted Bill or in the MOU), and the provision of this support has been heavily informed by this work. The professional support will be provided to the GLA by MOPAC under section 401A of the Greater London Authority 1999 (GLA Act). Before shared services arrangements can be entered into by the GLA, the Mayor must consult the Assembly (in practice GLA Oversight Committee). It is proposed that the Mayor approves a delegation to the Executive Director for Housing and Land to consider and take into account the views of the Assembly and subject to having done that, enter into the shared services arrangements with MOPAC under section 401A.

1.16 The professional services to be provided would require the establishment of a new team in MOPAC, which will require a shared services arrangement. It will be for MOPAC to decide how best to manage and organise its work in support of the GLA’s work so as to meet the requirements of the GLA in relation to the proposed new duty or the activities in the MOU.

1.17 MOPAC’s existing work on violence against women and girls (VAWG), including its VAWG strategy, its grant-funding programmes and its current initiative to provide emergency accommodation and support to victims of VAWG and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic means that it has the appropriate contacts, expertise and experience to be able to quickly and effectively provide the professional support needed to help the GLA to deliver the proposed new duty under the enacted Bill or carry out the MOU activities. MOPAC also coordinates relevant boards and stakeholder groups, including the VAWG Board and the London borough VAWG Coordinators.

1.18 The new MOPAC team will work closely with the GLA’s Housing and Land directorate, where resources will be put in place to oversee, complement and enhance MOPAC’s work to deliver the new duty. This work will maximise opportunities for joining up the revenue associated with the new duty and the Mayor’s capital programmes that have the potential to fund new safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse and for linking with Housing and Land’s work on homelessness and rough sleeping.

1.19 It is also proposed that MOPAC will report progress on a monthly basis to the GLA.

1.20 The GLA will need to allocate funding to MOPAC to cover the cost of providing its professional support and this allocation of funding will form part of the terms of the shared services agreement. However, decision-making on the services, and the contents of the strategy and needs assessment will remain with the GLA, as will funding for the commissioning of services themselves until the Mayor has made decisions in relation to the commissioning of those services. Therefore, when the new legislation is in force, further decisions about these matters and any of the other functions set out in the new legislation, will be sought later in 2021/22. Any commissioning/decommissioning decisions will be made by the GLA following the receipt of advice from MOPAC.

1.21 Assuming that the proposed new legislation does not come into force until mid-late June 2021, the GLA will only provide funding to MOPAC to cover the costs incurred by MOPAC for providing its professional support during that short period from 1 April and the new legislation coming into force. It is expected that the work carried out by MOPAC during that time will be mainly administrative in establishing the new team, appointing the membership of the board in readiness for the commencement of the legislation, and setting out how it will organise its work and the work plan for the strategy.

1.22 Should there be any lengthy delay in the proposed new legislation coming into force, further decisions will need to be made by the Mayor in relation to the allocation of the GLA’s 2021/22 overall funding to MOPAC so as to ensure that the GLA and MOPAC are acting within their respective statutory functions as set out in the GLA Act.

1.23 It is essential that the work to undertake the needs assessment commences as soon as possible from 1 April 2021, so as to ensure that this work can be completed in a timely manner. MOPAC will provide professional services in identifying the appropriate provider, preparing the appropriate arrangements for the provider’s work and making arrangements for the work to commence. The GLA will provide funding directly to the provider for this work.

1.24 Future years’ allocations from MHCLG will be subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review and the portion of these future allocations to be transferred to MOPAC under the shared services agreement will be reviewed annually.

2.1 The overarching objective of the new duty is to improve outcomes for victims of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation. Over time, and if sufficient and long-term Government resources are made available, the following outcomes could be achieved:

• improved strategic oversight and planning across areas;

• improved provision for those with specific, complex or multiple needs, or whose needs are unlikely to be met by a single local authority;

• a reduction in the variations, unrelated to need, in the level of provision commissioned by different local authorities;

• improved quality and consistency of provision and commissioning; and

• a better alignment of capital and revenue funding, resulting in more provision.

2.2 The following outcomes and outputs should be achieved during 2021/22:

• creation of the partnership board;

• completion of a needs assessment;

• production of a pan-London strategy, including a commissioning framework;

• the continuation of support services being provided by the 21 London councils receiving MHCLG funding for these services in 2020/21; and

• commissioning/a bidding round and allocation of funding for support services.

3.1 Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as public authorities, the Mayor and GLA are subject to a public-sector equality duty and must have ‘due regard’ to the need to (i) eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; (ii) advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not; and (iii) foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (all except the last being “relevant” protected characteristics).

3.2 Characteristics of victims of domestic abuse (national figures):

• gender: women are much more likely than men to be the victims of high risk or severe domestic abuse;

• age: younger people are more likely to be subject to interpersonal violence. Most high-risk victims are in their 20s or 30s. Those under 25 are the most likely to suffer interpersonal violence;

• pregnancy: nearly one in three women who suffer from domestic abuse during their lifetime report that the first incidence of violence happened while they were pregnant;

• separation: domestic abuse is highest amongst those who have separated, followed by those who are divorced or single;

• drug and alcohol use: victims of abuse have a higher rate of drug and/or alcohol misuse (whether it starts before or after the abuse): at least 20 per cent of high-risk victims of abuse report using drugs and/or alcohol; and

• mental health: 40 per cent of high-risk victims of abuse report mental health difficulties.

3.3 Given the above, the proposals in this paper are likely to have positive impacts on a number of groups with protected characteristics. Specifically, the work outlined above will focus on arrangements to facilitate improvements in accommodation and support for victims of domestic abuse (who are more likely than the general population to be women and to have mental health support needs). The equalities implications will be kept under ongoing review throughout this programme of work including in relation to the commissioning of support.

Key risks and issues

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1 The objectives of the proposals are in line with

• the Mayor’s London Housing Strategy policy 7.2c; and

• the Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

Impact assessments and consultations

4.2 Both the London Housing Strategy and the VAWG Strategy were subject to public consultation and equalities impact assessments.

Conflicts of interest

4.3 The officers involved in the drafting and clearance of this form have identified no known conflicts of interest.

5.1 This decision requests approval for the receipt of £20,688,230 revenue funding from MHCLG and expenditure of the same amount to assess the need for domestic abuse safe accommodation in London and to commission support for victims and their children. The GLA will enter into an MOU with MHCLG detailing expected activities and the delegation of authority for the period until the Bill is enacted, if it is not enacted by 1 April 2021.

5.2 This funding is to cover the administration costs of new staffing resources to develop and publish a strategy for commissioning support, and a needs assessment, appointment and running of a multi-agency partnership board plus commissioning and grant funding of support services.

5.3 This decision also requests approval for grant funding of up to £5,000,000 to 21 London boroughs to provide support services funded by MHCLG in 2020/21. This expenditure is funded by the receipt set out in 5.1 above and will be paid as grant.

5.4 This decision requests approval to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Housing and Land, after consultation with the Assembly, to enter into a shared service arrangement with Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). MOPAC will provide the GLA with professional support relating to this new duty.

5.5 This decision requests approval in principle for the transfer of funding to MOPAC for the provision of professional support (noted in paragraph 5.4) and approval to the Executive Director of Housing and Land to finalise the amount and terms of the funding.

6.1 Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Bill sets out the proposed new duties on the GLA and London Borough councils. Clause 55 of the Bill sets out the duties to assess the need for domestic abuse support in London and to prepare and publish a strategy. Clause 56 makes provision for the appointment of a domestic abuse local partnership board and sets out its membership. Clause 59 defines the GLA as the relevant local authority responsible for the new duties in clauses 55 and 56.

6.2. The Bill continues to proceed through Parliament and has not yet received Royal Assent although it is anticipated that the Bill will either complete its passage on 1 April or by June 2021. When the proposed new legislation comes into force, the new duties will apply to the GLA and London Borough councils.

6.3. Although the Bill has not yet been enacted, and may not be enacted by 1 April 2021, the Government has confirmed that it will provide funding to the GLA from 1 April 2021 to enable it to discharge the functions that are set out in the Bill from that date. It will require the GLA to enter into an MOU setting out the activities to be delivered and this will remain in place until the new legislation comes into force.

6.4 During the period between 1 April 2021 and the enactment of the Bill, the GLA will be acting in accordance with its general powers in section 30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (the GLA Act). Under section 30, the GLA has power to do anything which it considers will further any one or more of its principal purposes which are promoting economic development and wealth creation in Greater London, promoting social development in Greater London, and promoting the improvement of the environment in Greater London. The proposed activities as set out in the MOU, will further the promotion of social development in Greater London. These activities include providing a proportion of the MHCLG funding to the London Borough councils and incurring expenditure in appointing a provider to undertake the needs assessment.

6.5 The exercise of section 30 powers is restricted by section 31(1) of the GLA Act which provides that the GLA shall not incur expenditure which may be done by MOPAC (and other functional bodies). It is also restricted by section 31(3) which provides that the GLA cannot incur expenditure in providing any education services, any social services, or any health services, in any case where the provision in question may be made by a London Borough council. Section 31(6) enables the GLA to incur expenditure in co-operating with, or facilitating or co-ordinating the activities of, MOPAC and London Borough councils. For any period between 1 April 2021 and the enactment of the Bill, the GLA will need to ensure that any expenditure is consistent with section 31.

6.6 Section 401A of the GLA Act provides that the GLA can enter into arrangements with MOPAC for the provision of administrative, professional or technical services by MOPAC to the GLA, whether for consideration or otherwise. Any professional services provided by MOPAC need to be of the type that fall within this power. The Mayor must consult with the Assembly before entering into any such arrangement involving the GLA; this role has been delegated to the Assembly’s GLA Oversight Committee. The Mayor has power to delegate the power to Executive Director for Housing and Land to enter into the proposed shared services arrangement with MOPAC subject to having considered and taken into account the views of the Assembly.

6.7 Section 143(1)(b) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides that MOPAC, may provide or arrange for the provision of services that are intended to help victims or witnesses of, or other persons affected by, offences and anti-social behaviour. MOPAC’s work with victims and witnesses falls within this power. MOPAC has the appropriate expertise and experience in order to provide the professional services required by the GLA to enable the GLA to deliver the duties in the proposed new legislation. It is reasonable, therefore, for the GLA to use MOPAC’s expertise in this area.

6.8 When the new duties on the GLA come into force, the proposed funding provided to MOPAC for professional support can be provided in accordance with section 401A which provides that “consideration” can be given for professional services. As MOPAC will only be providing professional services, the final approval of the needs assessment, and strategy remains with the GLA and is not something that can form part of the shared services arrangement. Further decisions approving the content of the final needs assessment and strategy and confirming that they can be published will be required throughout 2021/22. Decisions in relation to commissioning and decommissioning of services will also remain with the GLA as well as entering into grant agreements which cannot form part of the shared services arrangement.

6.9 If the Bill is not enacted on 1 April 2021 and the new legislation does not come into force until mid-late June 2021, the funding to MOPAC will be provided in accordance with section 401A, and will be sufficient to only cover the costs incurred during the period from 1 April to the new legislation coming into force. When the new legislation is in force, additional funding for MOPAC’s professional services can be provided as referred to in paragraph 6.8 above.

6.10 Should the new legislation not come into force for an extended period of time, the activities to be carried out by the GLA must be consistent with section 31 of the GLA Act and not duplicate anything that may be done by MOPAC. As such, if there is any continued delay in the duty on the GLA coming into effect, the Mayor will need to make further decisions about the allocation of funding to MOPAC and the work it should carry out, particularly in relation to decisions about the commissioning of services which is something that falls within MOPAC’s statutory remit under the GLA Act.

6.11 The standard shared services documentation will cover issues such as the funding for the professional services that MOPAC will provide to the GLA for delivery of the proposed duty (or activities in the MOU), staffing, reporting and governance arrangements, outcomes and targets and review and termination arrangements and liabilities. It is proposed that the finalisation of the terms of the proposed arrangements will be delegated by the Mayor to the Executive Director of Housing and Land.

6.12 The proposed arrangement is compliant with public procurement regulations; a competitive process is not required for co-operative arrangements in the public interest where one provides services to the other on a not for profit basis.

7.1 It is proposed that MOPAC will provide professional services relating to the delivery of the proposed new duty (or activities in the MOU) on behalf of the GLA. This service will be provided under section 401A of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.