PCD 1611 Children & Young People Impacted by Domestic Abuse

PCD 1611 Children & Young People Impacted by Domestic Abuse

The Violence Reduction Unit has been funding RISE Mutual CIC (RISE) in partnership with Richmond Fellowship to deliver The Bambu Project since August 2022. To date, the programme is showing demonstratable positive outcomes, building emotional resilience in children and young people (age 11-24), and improving confidence to access further support in the future.  

This decision is seeking permission to extend CYPIDA services delivered by Bambu project by 12 months beyond its end date in July 2024. The cost of the extension is within VRU budget.  

The extension will provide continuation of existing services while introducing a new, additional service to support the victim/survivor parent of children and young people participating in the Bambu programme, thereby enabling ongoing support and the service to take a more holistic, family-wide approach. 

This extension will enable the VRU to commission an evaluation/learning partner to collate and disseminate the learning of this programme. This 12-month extension will provide service continuity and give the VRU more time to collate the outcomes of the evaluation to inform future commissioning of support for children and young people impacted by domestic abuse. 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to: 

  1.Approve a 12-month extension to the contract that the VRU hold with RISE MUTUAL CIC, bringing the new end date to 31st July 2025. The value of this extension is maximum of £497,649 and is within VRU core budget. 

To note that this is the maximum value that the contract can be extended by the contract cannot be extended any further. 

2.Delegate authority to award this contract extension to the VRU Director. 

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. The VRU are committed to reducing harm to children and young people by preventing violence at the earliest opportunity. We know that growing up in a household affected by domestic abuse is a significant trauma and can have long lasting impacts on all areas of young person’s life and future outcomes. Our Bambu Project provides vital age-appropriate therapeutic support for children and young people impacted by domestic abuse.  

2. RISE have been working in partnership with Richmond Fellowship to deliver the Bambu Project since August 2022, showing demonstratable positive outcomes, building emotional resilience in children and young people, and improving confidence to access further support in the future. Bambu works with children and young people in eight boroughs across London with high volumes and rates of domestic abuse, with RISE (lead delivery partner) working with those aged 14-24, and Richmond Fellowship working with those aged 11-14.   

3. The Bambu programme currently holds a 2-year contract aiming to work with 300 children per year, with practitioners working with a caseload of 20-30 children and young people. However, the amount of resource required to engage and ensure that the child starts on the programme, as well as the complex nature of the cases, means that the delivery has had to be one-to-one focused, rather than group work, highlighting the additional need for more support and resources in this area.   

4. With the Bambu programme delivery to date been on a one-to-one basis, with support varying by age range and need. The VRU are proposing to continue to deliver the above interventions in the one-year extension.  

5. Below provides performance data of the programme up to 31st December 2023, which demonstrate the success rate of the programme (based on one-two-one support):  

Referrals (up to December 2023) 

Assessments  

Start and Completions 

6. Working with the provider and through service user feedback, we have identified a gap in provision for parents of children supported by the programme, and in response, propose an additional service: the New Beginnings programme. The provider has successfully delivered this programme to victim/ survivor parents in Barnet, with excellent feedback from group participants. 

7. The Programme will deliver up to 8 group sessions of emotional and skills support for the parent, focused on improving self-confidence in their parenting and reducing feelings of hopelessness. Where there is a language barrier, sessions can be delivered one-to-one with an interpreter. Bambu will deliver 4 groups a year, each group accommodating up to 8-10 women. 

2. Issues for consideration  

1. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recognises children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right. In line with this new domestic abuse legislation, children and young people should receive access to specialist support services like the Bambu programme.  

2. Domestic Abuse sits as a priority within the Mayor’s VAWG strategy and includes a clear commitment to support children.  

3. This extension will enable to the VRU to receive and consider the outcomes of an independent evaluation of the programme, and this evaluation will inform future commissioning decisions and strategy. 

4. Based on the learning from the Bambu programme, the VRU plans to build on the above opportunity with the New Beginnings Programme. The programme aims to: 

• Building resilience, boundaries & assertiveness 

• Understanding the impact of trauma  

• Self-care and support for parents  

• Skills to safely support their child with any presenting issues. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. The total cost of the extension is £497,649 and is within VRU budget. The cost of the extension will be allocated across financial years as follows; 

24/25: £329,415 

25/26: £168,234    

2. This extension will bring the total value of the contract to; £1,495,298 and will bring spend per financial year to; 

22/23: £331,766 

23/24: £497,649 

24/25: £497,649 

25/26 (contract ends in July 2025): £168,234  

4. Legal Comments  

1. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 or above. As well as the strategy for the award. 

2. Section 8.1 of the Contract Regulations state that Officers must calculate the Total Value. The Total Value is defined as “where the Contract is for a fixed period, by taking the total price to be paid or which might be paid during the whole of the period”. 

3. Prior to this decision the total price has always been calculated based on the term of VRU’s confirmed funding. E.g. if the VRU has confirmed funding up to 2025 then the costs are calculated up to that funding year. All extensions will be exercised only after the following steps have been followed: 

- DMPC approval to allocate funding to the programme once funding has been  

confirmed  

- The Contract may only be varied or amended with the written agreement of  

both Parties.  

• The details of any variations or amendments shall be set out in  

such form as MOPAC may dictate and shall not be binding upon the Parties unless completed in accordance with such form of variation. 

4. Officers can confirm that the DMPC has the legal authority to agree this decision in Accordance with the legal framework. 

5. Commercial Issues  

1. Section 6.(1) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 states: 

2. The calculation of the estimated value of a procurement shall be based on the total amount payable, net of VAT, as estimated by the contracting authority, including any form of option and any renewals of the contracts as explicitly set out in the procurement documents.” 

3. VRU is seeking approval to allocate a maximum extension value of £497,649 to the Children and Young People Impacted by Domestic Abuse service delivered by RISE MUTUAL CIC for further 12 months taking the contract end date to 31st July 2025. 

4. The full contract term for this service is 1st August 2022 to 31st July 2025. Which will increase the total maximum contract value to £1,495,298.00. 

5. Section 72.1 of The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 state; Contracts and framework agreements may be modified without a new procurement procedure in accordance with this Part in any of the following cases: — 

1. provided that any increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract; 

6. The above increase is 49.9% of the original contract and is therefore the maximum allowed and will not be extended further. 

6. Public Health Approach  

1.  London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is taking a public health approach to violence reduction, that is contextual; looking at the context and influences that impact on individuals at significant points in their life.  

2. The key areas which are being focussed on as part of this approach are:  

• Children and Young People – reducing Adverse Childhood Experiences and building resilience. 

• Wellbeing and achievement in schools - Institutions providing responsible leadership; London partners having mutual accountability to invest in what works 

7. GDPR and Data Privacy  

MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities.   

8. Equality Comments  

1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. 

2. The programme focuses on trauma recovery and building emotional resilience. which is a vital step in the overall approach taken to support individuals who may have recently experienced or may still be experiencing a lack of safety in their lives. The programme also demonstrates that they can offer the appropriate specialist support to victims of all five strands of hate crime which are;  

• Race 

• Religion or faith 

• Sexual orientation 

• Disability status 

• Gender/transgender identity 

3. Initial screening is taking place around equality impact and if required a full EQIA will take place. 

4. New Beginnings programme has been adapted to work effectively with minoritised ethnic and racial victim/ survivors of DA, using a culturally sensitive and inclusive approach. The project takes a holistic intersectional approach when delivering New Beginnings, recognising the impact of abuse and cultural trauma on individuals from minoritised groups and working with victims with empathy and an understanding of their unique experiences, and how they may face multiple forms of discrimination.  

5. Additionally, Bambu have established a LGBTQI+ service user forum which meets regularly. More recently they have been exploring how services can better meet the need of persons who present as LGBTQI+, they will continue to develop their programme materials in Bambu to meet the needs of different communities and individuals. 

9. Background/supporting papers 

1. None