Decision details

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 became law on 29 April 2021 and this report concerns the duties placed on West Sussex County Council under this Act.

The Act places a duty on Local Authorities in England to:

• provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation;

•     provide all eligible homeless victims of domestic abuse with an automatic ‘priority need’ for homelessness assistance;

•     ensure that when Local Authorities rehouse victims of domestic abuse, they do not lose a secure lifetime or assured tenancy;

•     provide all eligible homeless victims of domestic abuse with an automatic ‘priority need’ for settled housing under the homelessness legislation.

Each Tier One Local Authority is required to undertake a needs assessment and prepare strategies to support victims of domestic abuse in safe accommodation. In Sussex a collaborative approach has been taken to the completion of the needs assessment and a strategy that covers East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove has been developed.

West Sussex County Council has been allocated £1,498,174 from Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)  to respond to the results of the required needs assessment and strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Services has approved;

(1)   the Pan Sussex Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support Strategy and its implications for West Sussex alongside its publication on 5^th January 2022; and

(2)   the delegation of  authority to the Director of Communities to approve appropriate allocations of the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities funding in line with the needs assessment and strategy.

None.