Decision details

For Cheltenham Borough Council to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) relating to the grant payment of £33,524 which is to support the delivery of the new statutory duty within the Domestic Abuse Bill 2021 once it is commenced (subject to Parliamentary approval).

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has determined under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 that a grant of £125 million  should be paid to the local authorities in England in April 2021 to support the delivery of the new statutory duty within the Domestic Abuse Bill 2021 once it is commenced (subject to Parliamentary approval).

The ‘new statutory duty’ is: the new statutory duty on Tier 1 Local Authorities relating to the provision of support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe

accommodation as set out in Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Bill.

The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to formalise the working

relationship and expectations relating to the payment from MHCLG to enable local

authorities to support Tier 1 Local Authorities to fulfil the functions of the new statutory duty.

The grant only covers revenue expenditure relating to the functions set out in the new

statutory duty (within the Domestic Abuse Bill) on Tier 1 Local Authorities relating to the provision of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children residing within safe accommodation and is for the period from 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

The Domestic Abuse Bill 2021 will put in place a statutory framework for the delivery of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children residing within safe accommodation.

Tier 1 Local Authorities will be required to appoint a multi-agency Local Partnership Board (LPB) to support them in performing certain specified functions and Tier 2 authorities will be required to cooperate with the Tier 1 authority, so far as is reasonably practicable.

 These functions include:

 Assess the need for accommodation-based support for all victims and their

children, including those who require cross border support.

 Prepare and publish strategies for the provision of support to cover the locality

and diverse groups of victims. Give effect to strategies by making commissioning/de-commissioning

decisions to meet the support needs of victims and their children.

 Monitor and evaluate local delivery of the strategy.

 Report back to Central Government; expected to include:

o Reporting on local delivery – setting out how the functions have been

executed under the new duty (including reporting on strategy, as well as

how partnership working has been approached working across key

agencies and across neighbouring areas;

o Evidence that adequate needs assessments have been undertaken;

o Evidence that local strategies are in place and working effectively;

o Evidence that local commissioning decisions have been informed by

needs assessments and that there is adequate suitable provision;

o An evaluation of the impact of decisions locally including service delivery

outcomes;

o Evidence on spend and feedback on delivery, including challenges faced

and best practice.

Subject to Royal Assent of the Domestic Abuse Bill, and consultation the MHCLG expects to set out in regulations that Tier 1 authorities should finalise and publish their first strategy, based on a robust needs assessment, by August 21.

The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to formalise the working

relationship and expectations relating to the grant payment from MHCLG.

This will support the delivery of the new statutory duty within the Domestic Abuse Bill 2021once it is commenced (subject to Parliamentary approval) and enable Cheltenham Borough Council to support Gloucestershire County Council to fulfil the new statutory duty relating to accommodation.

the provision of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children residing within safe

None

None.

Memorandum of Understanding