Agenda item

Purpose of the report: The Head of Policy and Commissioning will provide a presentation to the Panel at its meeting, setting out the OPCC’s commissioning activities in more detail. However, to provide greater context, this paper sets out the main funding streams used by the team to support local services.

Witnesses:

Lisa Herrington, Head of Policy and Commissioning (OPCC)

Michelle, CEO of East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services and attending to represent Surrey Domestic Abuse Services

Rachel Roberts, Head of Victim and Witness Care Unit

Lisa Townsend, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey (PCC)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. The Head of Policy and Commissioning provided a presentation on the OPCC’s commissioning work, which entails commissioning a range of projects, services and activities covering community safety, reducing reoffending and supporting victims of crime, all of which link to creating a safer Surrey. The PCC took responsibility for commissioning victim services in 2014. In 2022, the Ministry of Justice opened an opportunity to submit bids for a significant funding uplift for services related to domestic abuse and sexual violence, which allowed Surrey to increase services provided. This funding will cease in March 2025, creating uncertainty around future arrangements for services. 72% of the commissioning budget comes from central government, but an additional £1,458,000 comes from local discretionary funding to create a Community Safety Fund, Children and Young People Fund, Reducing Re-Offending Fund and the PCC Fund. It was also noted that the introduction of the Serious Violence Duty created a budget for commissioning interventions, and that a Duty to Collaborate was expected in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 for the commissioning of services related to domestic abuse, criminal conduct of a sexual nature and serious violence.

2. The Chairman requested that the presentation slides be circulated after the meeting.

3. The Head of the Victim and Witness Care Unit provided a presentation on the work of the unit, which provides a traditional witness care service and a generalist victim support service. 45% of the unit’s funding comes from the OPCC and 55% from Surrey Police, with additional funding also received from the OPCC to support specialist posts such as that of a Fraud Caseworker, Children and Young Persons Caseworker and Non-intimate Stalking Caseworker. In terms of witness care, Victim and Witness Care Officers act as Single Point of Contact and provide information and needs assessments, assist with practical arrangements and emotional support as well as escalation to senior managers in HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the Crown Prosecution Service if there are issues with a case. In terms of victim support, the Victim and Witness Care Officers and Caseworkers provide a core generalist support service to all victims, which includes provision of an initial needs assessment, one instance of contact support and an ongoing tailored support plan if required. They added that Specialist Caseworkers were also available and trained in fraud, non-intimate stalking and issues affecting children and young people.

4. The Head of the Victim and Witness Care Unit explained that the unit contacted around 4000 to 5000 people each month to offer support, that approximately 30% of victims contacted were identified for an enhanced service, and that 50% of these were victims of domestic abuse. From April to October 2024 there were 820 referrals for ongoing support, 352 of which were still open, 274 had been closed and 511 of the 820 were victims of fraud. The Head of the Victim and Witness Care Unit noted the challenges in the Criminal Justice System including case backlogs, recruitment challenges, the availability of the HMCTS estate and resource against rising receipts, capped Crown Court sitting days and fluctuations in prison capacity. 2411 cases were assigned to Witness Care Officers as at October 2024, representing a 137% workload increase from 2018. The impact on witnesses and victims include significant disruption, attrition, the Criminal Justice System (CJS) process compounding the impact of crime, potential for further offences to be committed on bail, damage to public confidence in the criminal justice system (CJS), and pressure on support services with no additional funding. They clarified that, in 2018, the average length of ongoing support for a victim of crime was 23 days, which had increased to 80 days by 2023.

5. The CEO of East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services (ESDAS) outlined that domestic abuse could include physical and sexual violence, psychological abuse, economic abuse, harassment and stalking, and online and digital abuse. ESDAS worked closely with Surrey Police around coercive control - the condition within which different types of domestic abuse often take place and is the context in which most women were killed. Currently, one woman a week was killed by their current or ex-partner, they added. The CEO of ESDAS agreed to provide statistics for number of cases in domestic abuse-related deaths in Surrey. They stated that domestic abuse is recognised as a national emergency by the National Police Chief’s Council and the government, and that an estimated one in four women experienced domestic abuse in their lifetime. Domestic abuse costed the public purse an estimated £78 billion per year, they said.

6. The CEO of ESDAS explained that ESDAS works with survivors in a needs-led, strength-based way, and was open to anyone experiencing domestic abuse. Outreach was ESDAS’ core service, where referrals are received from the police. They noted that victims are automatically referred to ESDAS in high-risk situations, and that young people between 16 and 17 years old are also automatically referred. Support was provided in any way needed, including face-to-face contact and via email. They described how ESDAS is trained in criminal and civil law, the benefits system, debt and housing, and that ESDAS maintains several other services including a Specialist Domestic Abuse Court IDVA Service, group work with children and young people, a sanctuary scheme, counselling services, volunteering projects, group work, Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Prevention, specialist workers and the Steps to Change Hub. In terms of ESDAS’ demand, from 1^st April 2023 to 31^st March 2024, 8124 new referrals were received. Demand had continued to increase from 1^st April to 30^th September 2024, they noted

7. The Chairman asked if the victim support services employed volunteers. The CEO of ESDAS explained there was a mixture of paid staff and volunteers. The Surrey domestic abuse helpline is run by volunteers, with a paid volunteer coordinator to support them. Volunteers support through attending housing and doctors’ appointments and helping with community engagement, they said.

8. The Chairman asked about staff numbers in the victim support services. The CEO of ESDAS explained that ESDAS has 20, mostly part-time, staff, and around 35 volunteers, with around 8000 referrals.

9. The Chairman asked how the Panel could help the victim support services. The CEO of ESDAS explained the main way was to start conversations, and by going to their local authorities to ask what was being done around domestic abuse and how well the specialist services were known. They explained that opportunities for victim support services to speak to the public, such as through residents’ associations, could help break the silence around domestic abuse, and that ESDAS encouraged people to contact their service with any concerns.

10. The Chairman asked if there was someone available to talk to a group about domestic abuse. The CEO of ESDAS confirmed and offered to provide contacts relevant to members’ districts and/or boroughs.

11. A member asked about the Victim and Witness Care Unit’s default response to people that had been burgled. The Head of the Victim and Witness Care Unit explained that all victims of crime in Surrey were referred to the Victim and Witness Care Unit, and that the unit contacted every victim, depending on what contact details were available at the time, to offer support. There was an initial needs assessment phone call with anyone identified as being in an enhanced category. It was a needs-led process, with assessments and an ongoing support plan tailored to this. They explained that this included support such as face-to-face visits, phone calls, and emotional and practical support, and that there are numerous other resources available for victims, such as door and window lock installation. The unit works with a 'Designing Out Crime Officer’ in Surrey Police and any professionals in support services, they added, and clarified that support was in place for as long as needed.

12. In reference to delays in the criminal justice and prison systems, the member asked if it was possible to estimate the harm this was causing. The Head of Policy and Commissioning noted that the best way to measure the harm this caused was by looking at individual cases, noting that the impact could be different depending on each case’s circumstances. The delays had a detrimental impact on people’s mental and physical health, they added. The Head of the Victim and Witness Care Unit stated that they had seen victims of what is classed as a non-enhanced crime becoming vulnerable due to the CJS process.

13. A member referred to overall victim satisfaction figures on the OPCC’s data hub, which have fallen from 59% to 51% in the past 2 years - domestic abuse satisfaction ratings remain higher but had fallen from 90% 2 years ago to 83% in July 2024, while Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) satisfaction ratings have fallen from 60% to 35%. The member asked to what extent this reduction could be attributed to court delays and the additional volume of work. The CEO of ESDAS felt that the reductions in satisfaction were inevitable and noted it was not just the CJS that experiences issues, as issues are also in present in social care services, mental health services and other areas. ESDAS’s referrals into those services were difficult, they added

14. A member asked what challenges the Victims and Witness Care Unit governance board was currently considering and what solutions were being considered by the board to address these. The Head of Policy and Commissioning explained that the biggest challenge was the increase in demand on services, that a review would be undertaken of the Victim and Witness Care Unit, and that a new delivery model was being reviewed in which victim care and witness care would be separated into different teams in an attempt to help with the workload. They clarified that increased resourcing was being reviewed, but this would require investment.

15. A member asked if there were any disadvantages to the Victims and Witness Care Unit being run by Surrey Police, especially regarding police perpetrated domestic abuse cases. The Head of Policy and Commissioning acknowledged that the unit is an internal service and noted that a commissioned network of independent services was also available for victims, such as domestic abuse, sexual violence and criminal exploitation services. It was noted that the OPCC has worked closely with domestic abuse services around police perpetrated domestic violence to ensure support and confidentiality was in place, before the CEO of ESDAS added that ESDAS was part of a national network that looked at police perpetrated domestic abuse. Following the Centre for Women’s Justice super-complaint, this group did bespoke work with Surrey Police around their response to police perpetrated domestic abuse, which, they confirmed, continue to be monitored.

16. Regarding the commissioning of specialist support, a member asked how much of the external grants were available and was being affected by the UK’s current economic environment. The Head of Policy and Commissioning explained that external funding from the government made up 72% of commissioning’s budget and noted that it was not yet known what this would look like beyond March 2025. The OPCC was hopeful, they stated, as the government had a strong commitment to halving Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) over the next 10 years. The economic situation was increasing pressure on all funders and the public was generous in supporting external grant funding.

17. The CEO of ESDAS noted that while ESDAS receives statutory funding, a lot of ESDAS’ posts were ‘additional’ from the Ministry of Justice or the Home Office and realistically, from 1^st April 2025, ESDAS would therefore lose half of its service. They clarified that ESDAS applied to private trusts and foundations for funding, but a lot had shut their doors due to oversubscription.

18. In relation to the Reducing Reoffending Fund, a member asked if it was possible to measure the outcomes of the activity of the funding.  The Head of Policy and Commissioning noted that the Reducing Reoffending Fund had funded several ‘Navigator’ posts supporting Surrey Police’s Checkpoint scheme. This scheme is an out-of-court resolution scheme, where an offender undertakes work with a Navigator to address the root causes of their offending behaviour rather than going to court. This scheme had a 6% reoffending rate in the first year, which dropped to just over 5% over a further 2 years. The reoffending rate of people that did not go through the scheme and went to court was over 20%. Other successful support services included the Amber Foundation, they noted.

19. A member raised that when looking at police figures, she found that violent and sexual crimes were grouped together in one category, despite being different types of offences. The member asked if there was a way to break down the figures in greater granularity. The CEO of ESDAS explained that these figures were broken down and categorised on collection, so the member may only be seeing publicly available that are grouped differently. The Head of Policy and Commissioning added that the data was separated into categories, such as domestic abuse and sexual offences, and that she could assist the member in finding the figures they were seeking.

20. The PCC highlighted that the commissioning work outlined was the core work of the OPCC.

21. The Chief Finance Officer clarified that the Victims’ Unit funding came from the Ministry of Justice, but the funding for the Witness Unit came from general police funding from the precept and general grant. Therefore, if the Witness Unit required extra funding, it would need to compete with the other priorities within the Force.

Actions/requests for further information:

• Officers to provide a copy of the PowerPoint slides on the Commissioning update.
• Chief Executive of ESDAS/Head of VAWCU to provide statistics for number of cases in domestic abuse related deaths in Surrey.
• Officers to provide for different Surrey domestic abuse work contacts by borough for help with outreach, events and casework.

Officers to clarify where to find data that categorises offences differently by type (i.e. differentiating domestic abuse from sexual offences, etc.).