Domestic Violence Refuges

[Name Removed] made this Freedom of Information request to Broadland District Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was successful.

Dear Broadland District Council,

Please supply me, under The Freedom of Information Act, the following information;

1) The number of male refuges within the borough/district that are open to male victims of domestic violence/abuse. And the maximum capacity they can take. Listing the number of in each borough/district and naming the borough/district

2) The number of women refuges within the borough/district that are open to female victims of domestic violence/abuse. And the maximum capacity they can take. Listing the number of in each borough/district and naming the borough/district.

3) How much money is spent on men’s refuges within the borough/district

4) How much money is spent on women’s refuges within the borough/district

I look forward to receiving the aforementioned within 20 days

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]
Loving father to Tommi Cayden Darby

Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Darby - I am writing in response to your request for information as set out in your email below. The manager of the Council’s housing team tells me that

“The Council has one local authority commissioned refuge in the district. However this Council did not commission the refuge as it is actually funded through Supporting People which would be a County Council scheme (*). The refuge opened in 2009/10 and provides space for 5 households (females).”

(*) ln Norfolk a three tier system of local government is in place and so this responsibility would lie with that with each tier having differing responsibilities. This particular responsibility would lie with that authority and I assume you have contacted them in any case as part of your survey – if not then they can be contacted on www.norfolk.gov.uk .

I trust this response will meet your purposes but if, for whatever reason, you wish to get back to me please feel free to do so. In particular if you are unhappy with the information provided or how your request was handled please make contact and I will explain how you can make a complaint either to the Council or to the Information Commissioner.

Malcolm Black
Admin Manager, Democratic Services, Broadland DC
Ext 2532 or (01603) 430532
Cycling to work can improve your health and is kinder on the environment

This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may be confidential. If they come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please advise the sender by replying to this email immediately and then delete the original from your computer. Unless this email relates to Broadland District Council business it will be regarded by the council as personal and will not be authorised by or sent on behalf of the council. The sender will have sole responsibility for any legal actions or disputes that may arise. We have taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are free from known viruses but in keeping with good computing practice, you should ensure they are virus free. Emails sent from and received by members and employees of Broadland District Council may be monitored

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Dear Freedom of Information,

Many thanks for your reply.

To add to my request, please supply me the councils policies/protocols for the following;

A) What policies/protocols does this council have in assisting males and their children fleeing from domestic violence/abuse from their female partners, such as rehoming the male and his children

B) What policies/protocols does this council have in assisting females and their children fleeing from domestic violence/abuse from their male partners, such as rehoming the male and his children

I look forward to receiving the aforementioned within 20 days

Yours faithfully,

David Darby
Trying to be a loving father to Tommi Cayden Darby

Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Darby – in response to your query below the Housing team have
provided me with the following.

Answer to A & B) The same policies and procedures apply to any person who
approaches the local authority and makes a homelessness application based
on the fact that they are homeless due to the risk from domestic abuse.
Those who are homeless with dependent children will be deemed as priority
need under homelessness legislation.

In addition, the Housing Act 1996 also defines those who will be accepted
as in priority need provided that the authority is satisfied that they are
vulnerable and this includes those who had to leave accommodation because
of violence or threats of violence from another person that are likely to
be carried out. This can include single people with no other priority
need.

This policy is the same regardless of someone's gender. In addition the
term domestic abuse is a wider definition than simply physical assault. If
the victim is not homeless then we could still safety plan with them and
assess risk with them through completing a DASH assessment and could
advise them of their housing options. This could include one or more of
the following dependent on individual circumstances: refuge services, the
housing list, private sector renting through a rent deposit scheme or in
high-capital situations this could include the direction to seek legal
advice for owner occupiers to reclaim their equity.

If the victim makes a homelessness application due to fleeing and does not
have a connection to the Broadland area then if temporary accommodation is
required we will provide this whilst we assess whether the victim is at
risk from the whole of the area from which they have fled. This will be
part of the standard homelessness investigation. If necessary a
homelessness protocol referral will be made back to the local authority
from which they have fled (if there is no risk across the whole of that
area and there are no other local connections under homelessness
legislation). If necessary victims, regardless of their gender, will be
subject to a DASH assessment to measure the risk and to assess whether a
multi-agency approach is needed and where it is required, a referral to
the Independent Violence Advocacy service (IDVAs). IDVAs are available for
both female and male victims. Victims may be referred to a suitable refuge
if suitable and available, this could be at some distance from their
original location. In many cases being far away from the original location
may be deemed necessary as part of the safety planning.  If refuge
accommodation is not available then other temporary accommodation options
will be provided. If children or vulnerable adults are within the
household there may be an additional referral made to the Multi-Agency
Safeguarding Hub.

We would encourage all victims to report incidents to the police and/or
seek advice and support from a specialist domestic abuse service. However
we are sensitive to the fact that not all victims will want to report
incidents to the police. Within the housing team we always offer to refer
any victim for outreach support and we have a Leeway worker based within
our Early Help Hub. Leeway offers many services including a specialist
service for male victims who may prefer to speak to male workers. In
addition, the organisation Broken Rainbow offers specialist advice and
support to victims who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans. 

If you are a victim of domestic abuse of any kind then we would encourage
you to seek support and advice as there is assistance available. 

I trust this response will meet your purposes but if, for whatever reason,
you wish to get back to me please feel free to do so. In particular if you
are unhappy with the information provided, or how your request was
handled, please make contact and I will explain how you can make a
complaint either to the Council or to the Information Commissioner.

Malcolm Black

Admin Manager, Democratic Services, Broadland DC

Ext 2532 or (01603) 430532

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│bCycling to work can improve your health and is kinder on the ││
│environment ││
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This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may
be confidential. If they come to you in error you must take no action
based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please advise the
sender by replying to this email immediately and then delete the original
from your computer. Unless this email relates to Broadland District
Council business it will be regarded by the council as personal and will
not be authorised by or sent on behalf of the council. The sender will
have sole responsibility for any legal actions or disputes that may arise.
We have taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are free
from known viruses but in keeping with good computing practice, you should
ensure they are virus free. Emails sent from and received by members and
employees of Broadland District Council may be monitored

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Dear Freedom of Information,

Many thanks for confirming that you are a gender bias council when it comes to domestic abuse. This is evidenced by your reply, that being with the refuge for women, yet none for men.
Thanks for taking part in my investigations that shows that 25% of female victims and 21% of male victims experience repeat incidents within a 12 month period. Furthermore, National intelligence demonstrates that the scale & impact of domestic abuse in the UK is extensive. It is estimated that in a year 7% of women and 5% of men in the UK experienced domestic abuse.

Yours faithfully,

David Darby
Trying to be a loving father to Tommi Cayden Darby #tommi