DN487902 Statutory Provision of IDVA Service

Tender description

An exemption was approved in March 2020 for this financial year do to enable the provider to support this high risk group due. It would have been difficult to commission a service this year as new legislation which involves a statutory duty for Local Authorities to support victims of domestic abuse. The content of the duty is unknown so an exemption was sought and approved to continue with the current contract for one year so details of the duty can be included in a new contract specification next year. Since the exemption was approved there has been an an increase in referral rates. The increase in referrals is compounded by a need to review and redesign service delivery to enable access to support for clients during the Covid-19 pandemic. The service is now provided virtually and there are further increases on demand due to lockdown and families being trapped inside which creates stress on existing issues. Additional funding has been sourced to support the provider to sustain support services for this client group.