The multi-agency response to child sexual abuse in the family environment

On 4 February 2020 Ofsted published a report summarising the findings from six joint targeted area inspections (JTAIs). The inspection was carried out jointly by Ofsted (the lead inspectorate) alongside Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HM Prob), Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The report can be read in full here.

Source: Gov.uk

Independent Review of the statutory multi-agency public protection arrangements

The Ministry of Justice has announced an independent review of the effectiveness of the statutory Multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). The terms of reference state that the review will make recommendations to strengthen the operation of the entire MAPPA framework for managing TACT and TACT-related offenders.

The review will apply to England and Wales and will be submitted to the Home Secretary and the Justice Secretary.

Source: Gov.uk

Additional Funding for Violence Reduction Units

The Home Office has announced an additional £35 million for the continued funding of Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). The money has been allocated to eighteen Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to continue funding the VRUs in their areas.

Source: Gov.uk

Home Secretary launches £25 million fund to prevent burglary and theft in crime hotspots

The Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced the Safer Streets Fund which will be used to tackle offences such as burglary and theft in crime hotspots. Bids for the funding can be made by Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) across England and Wales.

To bid for funding PCCs must work with local authorities and other partners to develop crime prevention plans. These plans must be based on evidence that the funding is needed, the plans are value for money, and local communities are engaged.

The funding will be available from April 2020.

Source: Gov.uk

Local services will continue to decline until Government tackles £5 billion funding gap

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee calls on the Government to end its piecemeal approach to local authority funding and revenue raising. The committee claims that the government has been derelict in its duty to local authorities by failing to set out a funding settlement that addresses immediate service pressures or plan for future challenges. 

The findings of the committee include:

• Decade of funding cuts and uncertainty over financial settlement for 2020/21 has left council services at breaking point.
• Social care system on verge of collapse. Transport, culture, housing and planning spending slashed by over 40%.
• Government must act quickly to end needless uncertainty over spending and provide a long term funding settlement to enable councils to provide high quality local services.
• Funding gap for local authorities widely calculated at £5 billion and growing. 

Source: Parliament.uk