4. Statement by the Leader of the House and Chief Whip: Update on Implementation of the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:32 pm on 27 November 2018.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 3:32, 27 November 2018

I'll try and work my way through that list of questions. The proportionality bit is very important to us. So, as I said, we've got to look very carefully at who's providing what services and what the proportionate response to various levels are—[Interruption.] Yes. So, for example, many of the providers dealing with women who are seeking refuge from domestic abuse are also seeking refuge because they've experienced sexual violence, for example. The two things go hand in hand with women—not so much with male survivors of domestic abuse. And without taking anything away from men who come forward, as I said, the level at which men come forward is—it's a generalisation, of course, and that's always invidious, but, across, the piece, it's much less so. So, we're working very hard to make sure we do get a proportionate response and a proportionate funding level as a result of that. Would that we had enough money to fund absolutely all of it, but we don't, so a proportionate response is very important to us. 

As part of our sustainable funding model, we are looking to see how we work across the piece with the regional services. For the first time ever, local authorities have had to come forward with a plan and a map of their services. So, it's the first time we're responding to that. We've worked very hard, particularly in a pilot area in Gwent, who are much more advanced in terms of their collaboration in this area, to see what will work and what will not work. I think it's fair to say that we've had some unintended consequences of some of the funding arrangements that we've put in place. So, for example, we ask people to collaborate, and then we ask them to submit a retender for services, in which the unique selling point that they're resubmitting is part of the collaboration. So, clearly, there are some unintended behaviour consequences of that, and we're working very hard to overcome that. And some of the regional consortia have made very strong and I think sustainable suggestions for that. The national advisers are chairing those discussions and I'm sure we can come up with a more sustainable model for that. 

I actually agree with her about the mapping services. That's the purpose of the local authorities being asked to come forward in this way with their plan for the services and our response to that. The First Minister has announced his expert-led review. I'm very keen to see the voice of the survivor inside that. It's important that the experts are there to give us that advice, but, as I said, we want to see survivors at the heart of reviews of services, because we know how much we learn from what happened to them and where we might have intervened earlier, and what worked for them and what didn't. I was very pleased to be at the launch of a Welsh European Funding Office-funded service with Mark Drakeford, my colleague, last week—Threshold DAS—where that was emphasised. I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting four of the survivors there, who talked us through their experience and what would have been of assistance to them. And it's very important indeed for us to do that.

Part of the gender review of policy, which is going on simultaneously as well—it will be no surprise to anybody here, if you've read stage 1 of the review, it's in there, but the stage 2 review as well looks at resources and the budgeting process as part of that review, and I'm sure that that will come to the forefront. One of the things we want to look at is how we measure interventions across the Welsh Government, and what impact we look at in terms of what those interventions deliver, and that hasn't been done in quite that way before, so I'm very keen to get that done. And the guidance will be out very shortly. I don't want to give you an absolute deadline, but I'm hopeful it will be very shortly.