DN568867 IDVA Service

Tender description

Domestic Abuse is a significant issue in the city and has increased during Covid lockdowns. The issue is a priority for the Citysafe Board, the Citysafe Plan and the Mayor. The IDVA Contract enables provision of risk assessment, support and safety planning for the highest risk victims of domestic abuse in the city. T The contract expired on 31st March 2021 and the provider continues to offer the service until procurement of a new contract. A commissioning project group was initiated in the spring of 2019 to provide leadership and guidance for commissioning IDVA and refuge with the aim of streamlining support for victims and families. Consultation with service users and providers was completed to inform the commissioning process in summer 2019. However national government made an announcement in October 2019 of the intention to introduce a new Domestic Abuse Act and statutory duties for local authorities relating to domestic abuse and safe accommodation. Details of the duty were unclear at that time and commissioning was stalled until we were able to include the new duty in our tender process. Due to Covid 19 and a delay in progressing the Bill through parliament, the DA Act and statutory duty was not finalised until 29th April 2021. Using the Act and guidance issued by the Home office, the requirements of the statutory duty have now been included in the IDVA service specification and the procurement pack is being finalised with an aim to open the tender process in the first week of August 2021. The new contract is expected to start in November 2021, however there are blockages with capacity in legal and finance so we are asking for an extension until 31st December 2021 to mitigate for any further delays to the contract finalisation.