Agenda item

Report for decision.

ORDERED that Executive:

1. Approve the Middlesbrough Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025-2028.
2. Approve the proposed commissioning recommendations, as outlined in the Commissioning Plan (Appendix 2) with procurement to commence in 2025/26.

The Executive Member for Adult Social Care submitted a report which sought approval of the Middlesbrough Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025-2028. The Council had a statutory duty under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to publish a needs assessment and develop a Domestic Abuse Strategy.

The Needs Assessment, completed in September 2025, had identified the need to recommission and reconfigure domestic abuse services to ensure adequate resourcing and clear pathways for victims to access community-based support and safe accommodation. The recommended approach was to commission an integrated protect and support service, a diverse specialist safe accommodation service, and a prevention programme covering education, communities, and employers. Immediate priorities included commissioning specialist “By and For” services, immigration advice for victims with insecure status, and extending IRIS and perpetrator programmes. Background information highlighted previous achievements such as creating a single point of access for victims, commissioning therapeutic services for children, embedding the IRIS programme in primary care, and raising public awareness.

However, significant challenges had remained due to high demand and complexity of cases, requiring a well-coordinated system and appropriate funding. The new strategy and objectives had been developed in consultation with the Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership Board and would inform future commissioning arrangements.

The Deputy Mayor commented that Middlesbrough had some of the highest cases of Domestic abuse and expressed her thanks to the Council for investing in the IRIS programme and hoped the NHS could do more to support it.

The Mayot stated that over one million pounds had been invested in this project and expressed his thanks to the Domestic Abuse Strategic Lead.

OPTIONS

Several options were explored before considering introducing a new strategy including retaining the existing 2019 strategy. However, this would have left the Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership Board without updated objectives and failed to meet statutory obligations.

Delays would have compromised recommissioning of services, which were needed to meet local demand. Current contracts, due to expire in March 2026, were not aligned to reflect present needs, and failure to re-procure in a timely manner could have resulted in financial and organisational instability. The Needs Assessment had made specific recommendations, and Domestic Abuse Act funding was required to be used for safe accommodation; therefore, continuing with the 2019 strategy was not a viable option.

ORDERED that Executive:

1. Approve the Middlesbrough Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025-2028.
2. Approve the proposed commissioning recommendations, as outlined in the Commissioning Plan (Appendix 2) with procurement to commence in 2025/26.

REASONS

Middlesbrough Local Authority had a statutory duty to publish a Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment, detailed at Appendix three of the report, to determine the level of need for domestic abuse support, and to develop a Domestic Abuse Strategy which set out the Local Authority’s vision and strategic objectives for next three years. This has been undertaken and now set out the immediate and long-term commissioning intentions, which would increase specialised safe accommodation, improve community-based support for victims and develop stronger partnerships between services working directly with domestic abuse victims and their children

The Statutory Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment had been agreed by the Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership (DASP) and was published September 2025. The executive summary was attached at Appendix three of the report which informed the strategy development.

The Needs Assessment had identified a need to recommission and reconfigure all Domestic Abuse provision to ensure priority areas were appropriately resourced and there were clear pathways for victims and survivors to access either community-based support and / or safe accommodation.

The recommended approach was to commission an independent specialist integrated protect and support service which incorporated all domestic abuse community-based provision, a diverse specialist safe accommodation service which would incorporate sanctuary, refuge, provision for complex need and dispersed properties and a prevention programme service which would comprise of prevention programmes in education, communities and employers.

Some immediate commissioning priorities had also been identified which would be commissioned this financial year to address gaps in provision, which included a specialist By and For framework, immigration advice for victims and families with insecure immigrations status and extending IRIS and DAPP (Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme) Programmes which worked with perpetrators.