The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 places a statutory duty on Tier One local authorities to deliver support to victims of domestic abuse and their children living within refuge and other safe accommodation and to assess the need for accommodation-based domestic abuse support in their area for all victims and their children, for survivors who come from outside the area (cross border support) and for specialist support such as BY and For.

In June 2021, BVSC was commissioned by Birmingham City Council (BCC) to conduct a domestic abuse needs assessment for Birmingham. This consisted of a mapping exercise exploring service provision for those affected by domestic abuse, a review of Birmingham City Council’s Domestic Abuse Prevention Strategy and the creation of an Implementation plan. Ensuring that the Domestic Abuse Act and its provisions were considered in all aspects of the work and woven into the Strategy review and Implementation plan.

BCC furthermore requested that the needs assessment go beyond the new duty set out by the MHCLG (now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) which only represents the needs of those who require support in domestic abuse safe accommodation. The assessment range was to be much wider and span the continuum of domestic abuse, capturing need at prevention, support and crisis stages.

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