Apologies were received from Councillors Gandy and Seldon.

To receive details of any member nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

There were no substitutes.

To receive any declarations of interests in respect of schedule 1, schedule 2 or other interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2021

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2021. Councillor Marsh proposed that an amendment be made to the minutes of the item, Briefing Paper on Out of Hospital Care, and the following sentence added:

“As the expected report was not available, the Committee focussed on Continuing Healthcare (CHC)”

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2021, subject to the amendment as outlined above, be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairperson.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

No questions had been received from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from councillors.

No questions had been received from Councillors.

To consider the attached draft Domestic Abuse Strategy 2021-24 and to determine any recommendations the Committee wishes to make.

The Acting Director Adults and Communities introduced the report, the purpose of which was to present the draft multi-agency Domestic Abuse Strategy 2021-2024 for the Committee’s consideration and comment before expected publication of the final strategy in early 2022.

Before the debate the Committee heard from representatives from West Mercia Women’s Aid who shared their perspectives, both personal and professional.

Key points from their presentation and the Councillors’ questions included:

·        West Mercia Women’s Aid (WMWA) had worked as part of a multi-agency group in reviewing the Strategy.

·        The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 had been designed so that all local authorities had the right services in place. Herefordshire Council had been ahead of the curve so the requirements of the Act were not as imperative as they were for some other councils.

·        WMWA was incredibly proud of its refuge as it was a new building that offered some of the best facilities in the country.

·        There were 9 satellite flats in addition to the refuge so WMWA believed that they had enough spaces to meet demand. Some spaces were kept open as emergency spaces.

·        WMWA worked very closely with Children’s Services to ensure that all children got the support they needed and were recognised as victims of domestic abuse where it had occurred in the family.

·        Communication between agencies and with the victim was vitally important.

·        When victims left was the point at which they were often most vulnerable and needed intervention. It was imperative that support agencies, hospital and GPs picked up this and regularly checked in with individuals.

·        Signposting to the help that was available was especially important to those suffering psychological abuse.

·        It would be good to educate school pupils from a young age on what was, and what was not acceptable in a relationship.

·        As well as the accommodation available in Herefordshire, WMWA had 2 refuges and satellite accommodation in Worcestershire and worked with a sister organisation in Shropshire. WMWA was also part of a national network of aid agencies which they could call on if a victim of abuse needed to leave the area.

·        One of the potential shortcomings of the new Domestic Abuse Act was its focus on having sufficient accommodation rather than support in the community which many individuals suffering emotional abuse needed. Safe accommodation was of course important but equally so was having a support network during and after.

·        The emphasis needed to be on prevention as well as being able to respond as although funding and resources had improved the statistics had not.

·        There was already work being undertaken with schools on respectful and healthy relationships but WMWA was saddened to report than many young people seemed to hold more misogynistic views than ever, The availability of online content showing women as victims and being abused was incredibly unhelpful. So too was the opportunity that social platforms gave for there to be remote abuse; something which had escalated hugely during lockdown.

·        There was a presence in hospital to help catch domestic abuse  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

To consider the Committee’s work programme.

The next scheduled meeting is Monday 10 January 2022 at 2.30 pm.

The next scheduled meeting was Monday 10 January 2022.