Minutes:
The Deputy Borough Commander commenced by updating the SBP Strategic Group on operational matters. He used an example of the new sub group report template to update on operational matters and on the recent meeting of the domestic abuse sub group. It was noted that in November 2016, LBB Domestic Abuse Commissioners had arranged a multi-agency event to launch the LBB VAWG Strategy, and this had been attended by over 40 professionals from both the statutory and the third sector.
In the lead up to Christmas, INTU had made a kiosk available to the police and partners to promote domestic abuse services in Bromley, and also to seek the views of the public.
The domestic abuse sub group had met for the first time on 1st December 2016, and was well attended. At the meeting, the first draft of the action plan had been agreed; this would be sent out to all partners for sign off before the end of 2016. A report on the progress of the action plan would be brought back to the SBP. It was noted that the Strategic Training Plan would form part of the action plan.
The Chairman was pleased with the draft sub group template and felt that this was a good way of having oversight. He stated that there was a need for honesty, and that problems should be flagged up.
Victoria Roberts (Interim Commissioner for Domestic Abuse and VAWG) and Aileen Stamate (Quality Assurance Manager for Adult Community Services) presented a report. The report was entitled ‘Domestic Abuse and Violence against Women and Girls Q2 Report’ which had been written by Clare Elcombe Webber. The Group was informed that the Domestic Abuse Advocacy Project had received 88 referrals over the last quarter, and that 45 of these had come from the police, and 13 from MARAC. The VARC (Victim Assessment Referral Centre) had seen a significant increase in the number of self-referrals, and accounted for 11 of the 88 referrals noted above.
The Perpetrator Programme was working well, and the support groups were focused. The multi-agency working of the One Stop Shop at Community House was explained. The Partnership noted the previous issues with the Safer Bromley Van project historically not generating enough referrals. However in Q2 there had been a big increase in the number of referrals. It was noted that problems existed concerning the verification of this data.
The Partnership considered the LBB VAWG Training and Development Programme for 2016-2019. The vison for LBB was noted, along with the UN definition concerning violence against women. The report highlighted that the impact on families and children was immense, and early intervention was critical. A report that had been commissioned by the University of Lancaster had estimated that the costs associated with DV and abuse in the UK during 2008 was £15.7 billion.
The report suggested that multi-agency partnership at both operational and strategic levels was the most effective approach. A concern was that without training in identifying DV and abuse, and responding appropriately after disclosure, then healthcare professionals may fail to recognise its contribution to a person’s condition, and to provide effective and safe support.
The Group noted that NICE had published multi-agency guidelines concerning DV and abuse; these guidelines promoted excellent quality standards which would be adopted by the LBB Training and Development Programme. The SBP Strategic Group was aware that addressing the issue of domestic abuse was a national and local priority and was therefore keen to take forward its three year strategy. Training and Development would be a key part of this.
The aim of the training programme was to change attitudes and end the ‘normalisation’ of any forms of gender based violence, and ensure that the reporting of these crimes to the police or relevant agencies, increased. Another aim was to ensure that all professionals could identify victims of VAWG, and were equipped to respond appropriately. The Partnership noted the anticipated outcomes of the training programme. The ultimate aim of the programme was the elimination of domestic abuse and VAWG.
It was acknowledged that the aims and objectives of the Training Programme were ambitious. Resultantly, it was likely that a phased implementation would be required across all departments. This would allow for collaboration, negotiation, and would help in achieving sustainability. Partners would be expected to develop training strategies for their organisations. They would also be expected to produce assessments of skill gaps, and costings to address any gaps that had been identified.
The Partnership were advised that the progress of the training programme would be reported to the Health and Wellbeing Board. It was important that any resource implications be raised with the Partnership so that solutions could be developed. The Partnership were appraised that legislative guidelines around DV had been incorporated into the Care Act 2014, and the VAWG remit established by the Home Office had been expanding. It was therefore important that the recommended training guidelines and standards were followed by agencies. In any cases where this was not the case, the Partnership should be notified. A mechanism for reporting this information would be developed by the VAWG Commissioner.
The Group noted the DV and VAWG Competencies. These ranged from Level 1 to Level 4, where Level 4 was the highest level of competency. It was explained that all agencies should have the same standards of in house training to ensure a consistent level of training for all professionals in the borough, and to ensure that every victim of domestic abuse and VAWG was responded to in a safe and reliable manner.
It was suggested that agencies should work with the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group when commissioning training to ensure that the training met the required standards and competencies. The draft Training Programme had gone to the Bromley Children’s Safeguarding Board, and would be going also to the Bromley Adults’ Safeguarding Board.
Ms Roberts requested that members of the Partnership email her directly with any comments on the Training Strategy. Then the Strategy would be ratified. Ms Stamate stated that she had access to £10k funding now, but consideration would need to be applied as to how the SBP would fund the training going forward. It was noted that in the New Year, work would need to commence with the commissioning of training.
In conclusion, it was noted that the training was being developed in line with the SBP Strategy, and that the monitoring of training was being undertaken by the domestic abuse sub group, the Bromley Safeguarding Children’s Board and the Bromley Safeguarding Adults’ Board.
RESOLVED that
1) A report on the progress of the domestic abuse sub group action plan would be brought to the next SBP meeting
2) Problems identified by sub group Leads should be flagged up to the Group
3) Progress of the Training and Development Programme would be reported to the Health and Wellbeing Board
4) All agencies should follow the recommended training standards and guidelines. Where this had not been done, it should be reported back to the SBP
5) A reporting mechanism (to support resolution 4) would be developed by the DV Commissioner
6) Agencies would work with the Safer Bromley Partnership Strategic Group when commissioning training, to ensure that the training met the required standards and competencies.
7) Comments on the Training and Development Programme should be emailed to Victoria Roberts
8) The SBP would consider how to fund the Training and Development Programme going forward