Safer Accommodation for Victims of Domestic Abuse

This opportunity will be an open procedure under the Light Touch Regime, and the
Council welcome tenders from consortium or sub-contracting arrangements for this
procurement opportunity.

The Domestic Abuse 2021 Act places a statutory duty on tier one local authorities such as Leicestershire County Council to provide accommodation-based support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation and provides clarity over governance and accountability, requiring tier two councils (district/borough councils), to co-operate with the lead local authority. To support this work, the Council has been allocated funding to discharge its duty of providing safe accommodation to victims of Domestic Abuse and their families.

The Council has carried out a Strategic Needs Assessment (SNA) to assess the need for accommodation-based domestic abuse support across Leicestershire for all victims. The SNA has highlighted there are currently 21 safe accommodation spaces in Leicestershire. The Council of Europe recommendation is 1 family place per 10,000 population. The population of Leicestershire is 706,155 therefore the recommended number is 70 spaces.

The current provision available in Leicestershire is below the recommended level. This Service seeks to expand the safe accommodation support options in Leicestershire and respond to the identified gaps in provision.

The service provision is to provide victim-survivors of DA with Safe Accommodation support services as defined in Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act. This Service will provide domestic abuse specialist support, housing management functions and support to victims in shared/dispersed safe accommodation across the county.

This type of accommodation provision is intended as a short-term option. It is expected for service users to remain in the accommodation for no more than 12 months, to which it is expected that the awarding body supports those service users until they have access to more stable accommodation.

The accommodation will be for victims who want to leave an abusive relationship but need emotional and practical support through the process; and/ or victims who need to leave their accommodation immediately for their own and/or their dependent children’s safety whilst a permanent safe place to live is found.

The service will be split into three types of accommodation:
- Lot 1: Specialist Accommodation for BAME Victims
- Lot 2: Generic, Accessible Accommodation for Victims of Domestic Abuse (Larger families, Families with Pets, Families with older male children and Accessible accommodation for those with disabilities)
- Lot 3: Specialist Accommodation for Male Victims

Bidders are welcomed to bid for one or more of the lots listed above. The Council are looking to appoint one supplier (bidder) for each of the different lots