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Funding available for domestic and sexual abuse support services

Norfolk's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Lorne Green, is inviting applications for funding from organisations which can help victims and survivors of domestic and sexual abuse through independent advocacy support.

The Ministry of Justice is providing a £16 million national fund for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs). This funding will be for two years, commencing 1 April 2021 and running until the end of March 2023.

PCCs can put forward ‘Expressions of Interest’ for the national funding pot - £4 million of which is for the provision of ISVAs and £12 million for IDVAs - in which they must outline clear requirements and evidence of need in their police force area.

To allow for an open and transparent process, PCC Lorne Green is inviting organisations that can provide an evidence base of need, and meet the criteria and outcomes for the funding, to submit their expression of interest by 28 February 2021.

PCCs will be expected to carry out a ‘local assessment of need’, made up of four parts:  

  • Part 1 - Contextual Information
  • Part 2 - Analysis of current unmet victim need
  • Part 3 - Description of existing gaps and provision of underrepresented victims and how proposals will address this
  • Part 4 - How roles that are proposed will align with existing provision.

This process is open to all relevant support organisations within Norfolk. Applications are encouraged from small specialist organisations with a proven track record of providing tailored services for underrepresented groups or those with protected characteristics as set out within the Equality Act.

The process of assessment will be carried out in collaboration with local authorities and other commissioners, and PCCs will undertake due diligence checks, financial assessments and risk assessments. A checklist of information required from those submitting applications is available. 

The purpose of the fund is to increase advocacy support for victims and survivors of sexual violence and domestic abuse across England and Wales, including children. While we expect this to focus predominantly on increasing the number of ISVAs and IDVAs across local areas to expand service capacity in response to the pandemic, we are also interested in receiving Expressions of Interest for innovative models of advocacy support for these groups of victims. This includes how PCCs will work to support children and young people to minimise the negative impact this can have on their future lives.

It is expected that services will:

  • offer tailored support for under-represented survivors and those with protected characteristics;
  • propose innovative advocacy models as well as for established roles such as IDVAs and ISVAs, for both adults and children;
  • adopt hybrid models supporting both domestic abuse and sexual violence victims, as well as violence against women and girls advocates and advisers, provided they will be supporting victims of sexual violence and/or domestic abuse. 

Specific roles eligible for this fund include: 

  • ISVAs And ISVA Managers (provided these managers have an active caseload of victims)
  • IDVAs And IDVA Managers (provided these managers have an active caseload of victims)
  • Child specialist ISVAs and IDVAs

Expressions of Interest should ensure that funding is directed in full to the employment of additional advocates, including training and on-costs. Translation costs will also be considered

Outcomes:

ISVAs, IDVAs and other advocates for both adults and CYP will ensure that the rights and interests of survivors are always upheld - in accordance to the Victims Code of Practice.

We expect all advocates to be working towards the following outcomes:

  • Survivors have access to support that is individually tailored to their level of risk  and support needs
  • Survivors who want support to navigate the criminal justice system, and have been impacted by disruption in the criminal justice system, has an advocate to support them throughout all stages of their journey
  • Survivors have someone to advocate on their behalf, to ensure their views and needs are heard and upheld, such as within the criminal justice process, the MARAC process, or in engagement with a range of other statutory and voluntary agencies.

Guidance on the key elements of the ISVA and IDVA roles:

Evaluation Criteria:

Expressions of interest will be evaluated on the information provided by organisations within their Expression of Interest form. 

Details of the guidance given to PCCs by the Ministry of Justice on the allocation of funding have been published for complete transparency. 

Terms:

If successful, organisations will be informed by the OPCCN. All offers will be subject to OPCCN’s standard Grant Agreement, governance and financial checks. Please note reporting will be through quarterly grant monitoring reports/meetings and the Ministry of Justice outcomes framework (twice per year April and October).

Timeline: 

  • Sunday 28 February 2021 - Closing date for those wishing to submit an Expression of Interest to the PCC of Norfolk

  • w/c Monday 15 March 2021 - Anticipated outcomes communicated to PCCs

Questions about the funding and submitting an Expression of Interest: 

Any questions regarding this fund will be accepted by email to stephanie.stearman@norfolk.police.uk only up to Thursday 25 February 2021. 

If you would like to submit an expression of interest to be considered for the national fund, please use the Expression of Interest Form and return no later than 28 February 2021 by email to stephanie.stearman@norfolk.police.uk

If you are not already in receipt of a grant from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk, you will need to supply the relevant documents outlined in the application checklist. 

Expressions of Interest set after the closing date of 28 February 2021 or applications that are incomplete will not be considered.