In introducing the report, the Community Safety Manager said that Swale Borough Council (SBC) had been supporting victims of domestic abuse for many years through its safeguarding and community safety duties and had received funding for a domestic abuse post when the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 was implemented.  She said that SBC were applying for Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) accreditation and as part of that process a stand- alone Domestic Abuse Policy had been developed which included the areas covered at paragraph 2.6 of the report.  The Community Safety Manager said the report sought the Community Committee’s approval of the draft Domestic Abuse Policy to go out for public consultation for  eight weeks and she highlighted the groups that would be consulted.

In the discussion that followed, the Community Safety Manager responded to questions from members.  She said that procedures and processes were in place to refer children without parents.  The Community Safety Manager confirmed that local NHS providers were included in the consultation and that a separate policy for staff referred to in paragraph 2.7 of the report was still under discussion but would include a support staff to deal with difficult cases through mental health first-aiders.  She advised that according to statistics from service providers, peaks of reported cases of domestic abuse were in January 2022 and when large sporting events such as the world cup were held.  She said that extra resource was provided at those times. 

The Community Safety Manager clarified that foster children were included as family members, and this would be made clearer in the policy.  She agreed to remove reference to the frequency that the policy would be reviewed.  With reference to training, the Community Safety Manager said it was mandatory for staff and could be made available for members.

A member said that the phrase ‘Domestic Abuse Champion’ as referred to in paragraph 3.1 of the report was a misleading phrase. The Community Safety Manager said it was a nationally recognised term. In the discussion that followed, members discussed alternatives and agreed that suggestions for the correct term should be sought as part of the consultation.

There was a debate on the specific inclusion of abuse of people from groups with protected characteristics in the policy.  A member asked whether consideration had been given to include reference to trauma informed practice within the policy. The Community Safety Manager agreed that this could be looked at and more work would be done around victims of protected characteristics.  In response to a member’s question on safeguarding, the Community Safety Manager advised that there was a separate Safeguarding Policy that was reviewed annually and the Domestic Abuse Policy provided an extra layer of good practice.  She said the Safeguarding Policy was in the remit of the Housing and Health Committee and would be discussed in 2023.  The Community Safety Manager confirmed there was no separate policy for vulnerable adults and children.

In response to a member’s question on prevention, the Community Safety Manager said there had been less work around prevention and the Council aspired to do more.  She referred to a campaign that Swale Action To End Domestic Abuse (SATEDA) were about to launch on healthy relationships in the younger generation.

In response to further questions by members, the Head of Housing and Community Services clarified the housing support given to victims of domestic abuse as set out in paragraph 5.1 of the report and spoke about specific legislation that protected children.

A member requested that information of numbers of domestic abuse victims by area be circulated.  The Community Safety Manager said she was due to meet with Kent authorities in January 2023 and would seek this information.

The Chair proposed the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Elliott Jayes.

Resolved:

(1)  That the draft Domestic Abuse Policy go out for public consultation for a period of eight weeks.