442 - Provision of Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation

The introduction of the Domestic Abuse bill in 2021 brought with it new duties upon local authorities, mainly in relation to the delivery of safe accommodation provision for victims of domestic abuse and their children.

The Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation service seeks to deliver flexibility in our accommodation offer, to ensure that we go further in meeting the needs of people fleeing domestic abuse. We want to increase the numbers of units we have available for individuals and ensure we have different types of accommodation to suit people’s varying needs.

The specific areas of domestic abuse accommodation have been divided into the
following Lots:

Lot 1 – Domestic Abuse Refuge Accommodation.

The Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Refuge Service will deliver safe accommodation to people who are fleeing current or recent domestic abuse.
Wigan Council are seeking at least 16 units of self-contained accommodation of which, a number should be capable of accommodating families. The accommodation should be accessible 24/7 and should have the ability to flex quickly to meet varying needs and family sizes, thus not preventing any barriers to rapid accessibility.

The initial contract term for Lot 1 is three years with the option to extend for a further two years giving an overall contract term of five years.
The annual contract value for Lot 1 is £226,000 or £1,030,000 over the total contract period (5 years).

Lot 2 – Domestic Abuse Additional Safe Accommodation
Wigan Council not only want to increase the numbers of units we have available for individuals but wish to ensure we have different types of accommodation to suit people’s varying needs.
Wigan Council are therefore seeking a minimum of 15 units of additional accommodation, a significant element of which should be dispersed accommodation, with aligned specialist support. At least 10 units should be suitable for families, and should not be restrictive to age, gender or any other common factors associated with traditional domestic abuse accommodation models.

The initial contract term for Lot 2 is twelve months with the option to extend annually for a further two years giving an overall contract term of three years. Any extension will be subject to agreed external funding in year 2 and year 3 and is not financially guaranteed.
The annual contract value for Lot 2 is £150,000 or £450,000 over the total contract period (3 years) subject to funding in year 2 and 3.