Agenda item

Tina McElligott, Director of Childrens Social Care presented the report which provided an update to the annual report of June 2022 to the Community Leadership Committee (CLLC) on the work of the Safer Communities Partnership in meeting the aims of the Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women & Girls Strategy 2022-25.

Key highlights of the DA and VAWG Delivery Action Plan 2022/23 include:

IRIS funding for 2023/24 - Family Services secured £40k from North Central London (NCL) Integrated Care Board (ICB) and £50k from Public Health to run the IRIS programme and train all 50 GP surgeries in Barnet by March 2024.

IRIS programme in Barnet- To date, IRIS have delivered training to nine new surgeries that previously never had any IRIS training and completed those partially trained. There are 50 GP surgeries in Barnet with 28 currently fully trained practices and a further 15 partially trained with 7 not yet engaged in the training. The team have recently linked Solace with Barnet Primary & Community Care Training Hub who will support engagement with surgeries.

Minerva House funding for 2023/24 - The council was successful in securing £100,000 of funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities to support the continuation the Minerva House refuge provision by Barnet Homes in 2023/24.

Against Violence and Abuse (AVA) funding to Barnet Homes - Barnet Homes successfully obtained AVA funding for a three-year project, a two-year partnership to Barnet Homes which started in January 2023, with the remainder of the project focussed on creating and publishing guidance and sharing learning.

Ask for Angela initiative - Currently 57 of Barnet’s 73 licenced venues are participating in “Ask for Angela”. initiative to address women’s safety with the Community Safety Team are exploring if training in Ask for Angela can be included in licensing conditions.

Communication – a leaflet on where to get help and support for domestic or sexual abuse in Barnet was launched on 25 November 2022 and widely circulated to all networks and residents.

The Barnet Council Domestic abuse website also has been updated with the new leaflet and videos produced by students from Middlesex University who have worked with the council to create short films to promote awareness about local support services for people at risk of Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls.

The Communications team produced a comms toolkit for the 16 days of activism between 25 November and 10 December 2022 with the key messages being promoted across the 16 days of activism to support residents and signpost residents to information about where to get help and support through provision of key contact information of voluntary sector organisations and partners working in Barnet.

Events - A successful World Social Work Day event jointly organised by Children’s  and Adult’s Social Care Services was held on Tuesday 21 March 2023 with the theme ‘Respecting diversity through joint social action’, the event was supported by  RISE, Solace and Barnet Homes stalls.

Cllr Conway thanked everyone involved for the InspirationALL awards campaign noting that had positive impact on and feedback from women from across the Borough.

Cllr Conway also expressed her thanks to the Roads and Transport Police who are regularly doing VAWG awareness raising with stands in different locations at transport hubs etc.

Cllr Beg asked for commitment that our partners are working in the best interests of residents who are experiencing domestic violence. Ms McElligott noted that much training is taking place for all forms of domestic violence and is a priority of the service and external partners to ensure that this is a continues over time.

Cllr Beg also commented about the domestic abuse statistics, noting that Barnet had the 4^th lowest rate in London out of 32 borough and asked for clarity on what this meant. Ms McElligott commented that the data shows us domestic abuse incidents that are reported across London, however Barnet has been consistently lower than the rest of London for many years and all households have been provided with information that provides information and guidance on how to report abuse and access support.

RESOLVED that the Committee:

1. Noted and commented on the progress made by the Safer Communities Partnership on delivering the five priority objectives of the Barnet Domestic Abuse (DA) and Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy (2022-2025).

2. Noted and commented on Safer Communities Partnership priorities as set out within Barnet’s Domestic Abuse & Violence Against Women & Girls Strategy (2022 – 2025).