Domestic Abuse Support Service

Herefordshire Council is seeking to tender a county wide domestic abuse support service seeking to reduce the risk of harm to victims of domestic abuse, offer access to emergency accommodation and to provide advice, signposting and support which assists victims to meet their individual outcomes.

The service will operate in the context of a new joint domestic abuse strategy to be adopted in Spring 2019. The strategy will encompass plans and approaches across the care, health and community safety systems and will focus on the whole family and prevention. Changes and approaches brought by the strategy are expected to complement the core provision offered by this service.

The provider will work with the commissioner to maintain the currency of the service specification over the lifetime of the contract period.

The provider will be required to work with a range of key partners to ensure adults and children at risk of or who are experiencing domestic abuse are identified early and a co-ordinated response is invoked. The provider will connect in the most effective way to other organisations, including adult and children's safeguarding and the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC).

The provider will also be expected to contribute to the delivery of the wider joint domestic abuse strategy and action plan.