Agenda item

Report CEF22012

The report sought to use the final option to extend the contract with Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid for the delivery of a range of support services to women and girls at risk of, or who had suffered domestic abuse (DA) for a further one year commencing on the 1^st April 2022.  Authorisation was also sought to vary the original estimated contract value for 2022/23 from £154,262 to £200,000 to cover the increased costs of delivering victim support services as proposed by Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid to deliver this service following an unsuccessful Tender exercise and to vary the contract value to cover the additional MOPAC funded DRIVE IDVA post for six months until 30 September 2022, at a cost of £20,897.

The Committee noted the typing error in paragraph 12.1 which should have read “there are no HR implications”.

In response to a question, the Head of Early Intervention and Family Support confirmed that the DRIVE IDVA position was a separate MOPAC funded position.  In terms of the increase in the cost, there had been a 100% increase in the numbers of families seeking support and as a result of this the decision had been taken to further add to the MOPAC grant.

Members noted that this was a difficult contract to place, and work had begun on the process of seeking alternative providers from April 2023.  A paper outlining proposals from 2023 would be presented to Members in the summer.  There was an acknowledgement that the size of the budget may need to be reviewed and options for exploring funding from across the partnership were also being considered as this was an issue which impacted on a number of partner agencies.

The Committee noted that the Service was well promoted via social media to encourage victims to come forward and access services where necessary.  A senior police officer had developed an app  to facilitate reporting and assist mapping of domestic abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

RESOLVED: That the Portfolio Holder be recommended to

1.  Extend the existing domestic abuse (‘DA’) contract with Bromley & Croydon Women’s Aid for one year utilising the final option to extend the current contract for 1 year, commencing 1 April 2022. 

2.  Vary the proposed annual cost of the DA contract for services to support victims of abuse for 2022/23 to reflect the substantial increase in the costs of Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid to deliver this contract safely to women within the Borough.  The new estimated annual value will be £200,000. This is an increase on the estimated value of the contract, originally £154,262 for 2022/23.

3.  Vary the proposed value of the DA contract to incorporate the additional six months MOPAC funding for the continuation of the DRIVE IDVA post at the cost of £20,897 until 30 September 2022.

4.  Approve the variation to the contract estimated annual and whole life values as follows: -

(i)  WAS: as per previous Gateway Report to the Portfolio Holder dated 31 March 2021; Updated to reflect the inclusion of the DRIVE grant for 2020/21 and 2021/22 and totalled £186,392 for 2020/21, £191,769 for 2021/22 and £154,262 for 2022/23 with a whole life value of £532,423.

(ii)  NOW: as per this Gateway Member Report; Updated to reflect the recommendations in 2.1 – 2.3 above and updated to reflect the increase in the value of the victim services contract for 2022/23 and the recent confirmation of the extension to the DRIVE grant for 2022/23 this now totals £186,392 for 2020/21, £191,769 for 2021/22 and £220,897 (this is £200,000 for victims’ support services plus the £20,897 for the DRIVE IDVA) for 2022/23 with a whole life value of £599,058.