Agenda item

To consider and agree the draft final report.

Consideration was given to the draft final report for the Committee’s Scrutiny Review of Children affected by Domestic Abuse.  Specific attention was drawn to the following:

·       Conclusion & Recommendations: Commentary on the feedback received from early years providers had been added to this section of the report (paragraph 5.9).

The recommendation regarding domestic abuse-related training (recommendation 5) now had multiple elements to reflect discussions at the Committee’s informal ‘summary of evidence’ session in February 2026 and the subsequent end-of-review tri-partite meeting held in early-March 2026.  In addition, recommendation 9 had been added following the Committee’s desire for future focus around the voice of the child.

SBC officers proposed some minor amendments / clarifications to the draft report as follows:

·       Findings (paragraph 4.37): The reference to the Young Person’s (YP) Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) being ‘commissioned by PCC’ (Police and Crime Commissioner) was incorrect as the role was part of the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) contract with Harbour.

·       Conclusion & Recommendations (paragraph 5.4): The final sentence should begin, ‘Although future funding for hospital IDVAs is uncertain’ (not ‘IDVAs’ in general) as the GP IDVA was part of the core contract with SBC and was not at risk.

·       Conclusion & Recommendations (paragraph 5.5): The reference to three of the four Primary Care Networks (PCNs) within the Borough being unaware of the local GP IDVA arrangement should be accompanied by a line noting that this was not reflected in the referrals from individual GP practices, which had increased dramatically since the role was introduced (as reflected within paragraph 4.68).

From an executive perspective, the SBC Cabinet Member for Children and Young People thanked the Committee for its efforts in tackling this difficult topic and felt the number of recommendations reflected the depth of work undertaken.  Recognition around the value of the IDVA role was particularly welcomed, as was evidence of positive partnership-working across the Borough in relation to domestic abuse.  Members were also commended for linking several recommendations to the local Domestic Abuse Steering Group, emphasising the need for organisations to improve their recording of details (including a child’s age) of domestic abuse-related referrals, and acknowledging the importance of Elected Members (as well as SBC staff) receiving appropriate training to help identify this form of abuse and how / where to report it.

Reflecting on the content of the draft report, and the review in general, the Committee thought that a high number of recommendations was always likely given the complexity of this scrutiny topic.  Members felt the report would raise the profile of this type of abuse and support the large amount of work going on, with the review hopefully making a difference to the Borough’s children and young people.  A lot of good practice had been brought to the Committee’s attention, and it was important that this was recognised and built upon moving forward.

The Committee approved the content of the draft final report, subject to the identified minor amendments / clarifications, and was informed that the agreed version would be presented to Cabinet in April 2026.

AGREED that the Children affected by Domestic Abuse final report be approved for submission to Cabinet.