Notts council to publish domestic abuse strategy as staff become ‘overwhelmed’ with level of need

Council papers reveal the domestic abuse service is being ‘challenged’ by the number and complexity of cases it is faced with – and staff are ‘overwhelmed and exhausted’ with the level of need.

The aim of the new strategy is to ‘make Nottinghamshire a place where survivors of domestic abuse receive the support they need to feel safe and rebuild their lives’ and to ensure ‘perpetrators are held to account for their actions by the police’.

The strategy will be discussed by councillors at next week’s adult social care and public health committee and must be published by the council before January 2022.

Council papers state: “The Domestic Abuse service continues to be challenged by the complexity and numbers of cases.

“Together with the higher volume of calls, the calls themselves are getting longer as the complexity of need increases.

“There has also been an increase in service users with English as a second language.

“Providers are holding survivors in their services for longer, which means that waiting lists are growing and staff are overwhelmed and exhausted.

“The situation has not been helped by delays in the court system. Waiting lists have increased and plans have been put in place to address these in the coming months.”

The Domestic Abuse Act allocated £1.54 million of funding to the council earlier this year to ‘improve the support pathways for survivors in safe accommodation’.

As part of the new plans, a Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board will be set up with input from local authorities, support services, healthcare providers and the police.

The board will meet quarterly and will be chaired by Jonathan Gribbin, director of public health, for the first year.

It will develop strategies to support survivors, meet with those affected by domestic abuse in the county and report its findings back to central government.

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