Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment

Domestic abuse can have devastating consequences for those affected. Living with domestic abuse can raise significant health, psychological and sometimes child protection issues, it can also include negative impacts in relation to the workplace, finance, housing and social interactions.

Anyone can be affected irrespective of social class, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability and race for example.

The negative impact experienced by children is regularly underestimated, and often has long term consequences that can in turn impact on their own relationships.

Dudley MBC takes a serious and committed approach to addressing domestic abuse. We work closely in partnership across agencies and with communities to ensure that timely and effective help and support is available for individuals and their children who are in or leaving abusive relationships, in addition to ensuring that perpetrators are held to account for their actions.

The Domestic Abuse Bill received Royal Assent in April 2021 and subsequently Local Authorities now have a statutory duty to convene a Local Domestic Abuse Partnership Board who have a responsibility to:

• Undertake a needs assessment, with a refresh being undertaken on an annual basis to ensure any change in demand or support requirements are adequately captured.

• Assess the need and demand for accommodation-based support for all victims and their children, including those who require cross-border support.

• Meet the support needs of victims and their children

• Develop 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

• Monitor and evaluate local delivery

• Report back to central Government via annual reports

To support Dudley MBC to meet the statutory requirements of this Act as outlined above, we are seeking to commission external consultancy.

The initial term of the Contract will be for the period of 8 months from commencement with an expiry date no later than 31st March 2027. The contract will be subject of review every 2 months.

Scope of Services: The Provider will undertake and produce a full Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment for Dudley Borough, using data obtained from a number of sources including local, regional and national services and local professionals and service users.

The Needs Assessment will include implementation recommendations and based on the findings, the provider will produce a 3-year Domestic Abuse Strategy, including an outcomes framework with KPIs.