Agenda item

To review the implementation of the Violence Against Women and Girls Scrutiny Report and recommendations.

Councillor Promise Knight (Lead Member for Community Safety and Engagement, Brent Council) provided an update on this report. Introducing the report, Members were provided with assurance that issues concerning Violence Against Women and Girls continued to be a top priority. Referencing the Action Plan, it was noted that the vast majority of items had been implemented. It was noted that that corporate funding was increased to VAWG organisations, as well as increased MARAC service provision to meet the demands at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Committee was then invited to raise questions on the update provided, which focussed on a number of key areas as highlighted below:

·         The Committee asked what changes had been made to the VAWG strategy, in light of some high profile cases in the last 12 months and new threats that had become known as a result of such cases. It was answered that these cases had informed the work going forward, though the existing work within Brent was already robust. The Council was currently undergoing a consultation process to review the VAWG strategy priorities. More generally, it was acknowledged that Covid-19 had affected the landscape of Community Safety work. As the economy reopened, it was updated that workshops had been conducted with local businesses in relation to the Borough’s night-time economy, with input from women and victims of Domestic abuse. The Action Plan was working on feedback around open and public spaces in light of some events in the past 12 months which had been highlighted in the media. This also included work with police partners, not only in terms of investigations but also in community reassurance work.

·         Referencing an area of the Action Plan,it was asked for clarity to be provided as to how businesses could participate in this scheme. It was noted that whilst workshops were ongoing with the night time economy, training could be opened up to a wider variety of businesses. Added to this, Councillor Knight stressed that it was important to develop an inclusive approach to people who could potentially be victims of Domestic Abuse. It was clarified that no community or member of any community was excluded from support within Brent.

·         The Committee asked whether outcomes and members numbers of people being reached could be included from training sessions, it was confirmed that this could be provided in future.

·         The Committee raised Item 7 on the Action Plan around the number of women in refuge with teenage male children who had been successfully rehoused, and whether this data could be provided. It was confirmed that this data was available and could be provided to the Committee. 

It was RESOLVED:

(1)     That the following areas for improvement be noted:

·         For the Council to ensure emphasis is given to the initiatives to support for perpetrators within the VAWG strategy.

·         For the Council to ensure that the business training provided to the night time economy (local pubs, bars, restaurants etc.) around supporting vulnerable women and safeguarding is offered more widely to local businesses.

(2)     The Committee made the following information requests:

·         To receive a breakdown of the corporate training offered to Council staff including:

a)    Type of training

b)    Take up of training

c)    Take up of training by department

d)    Evaluation measures

·         To receive a breakdown of the number of women with older male children housed through the council house-building programme including:

a)    Total figures

b)    Type of accommodation

·         To receive details of the work undertaken to ensure that domestic abuse and VAWG services are accessible to all residents including those that share a protected characteristic.