Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Organisational Development which was presented to give Scrutiny Members the opportunity to scrutinise, challenge and give views on the proposed revisions to the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence policy (VAWDASV) (“the existing policy”) (Appendix 1) in accordance with the draft amended Domestic Abuse, Violence and Sexual Violence Policy (“the amended policy”) (Appendix 2).

The Head of Organisational Development spoke to the report and highlighted the main points contained therein.

A Member commented on the organisations listed in Appendix 2 under Help and Support and felt that the list should be revisited to include other organisations such as Clare’s Law and Victim Support as they provided important information and support to people.  He also enquired if the organisations listed still provided the same level of support, as in previous years, because of the pandemic.  The Head of Organisational Development would look to include other organisations and check on the level of services delivered by the organisations listed in the Appendix.

A Member pointed out that Appendix 1 referred to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) and enquired if this should read LGBTQ+.  The Head of Organisational Development said the policy had been developed in line with ACAS guidance in terms of research, but would look into this point.

The Chief Officer Resources clarified that Appendix 1 was the current policy and Appendix 2 was the proposed new policy and some of the Members comments may have been addressed in the proposed new policy.

The Committee AGREED to recommend, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and endorse Option 2; namely that confirmation be sought that the help and support services delivered by the organisations listed in the Policy were currently still offering the same level of support; and other organisations that supported victims throughout Gwent be explored and added to the Policy.