Domestic violence consultation

On these pages you'll see the actual questions Bristol City Council wrote and then underneath it’s translated into something a bit easier to understand. Once you've filled out this survey, your answers will be sent to Bristol City Council.

You don't have to be an expert to fill this out. This is a public consultation, for all of us. This is our chance to have a say and to make a difference.

Bristol City Council’s plan is to let police and social services decide which people living in safe houses are most in need of being re-homed. The council will then only place these people into the top priority for a council house.

Mehala believes that this plan will only affect 10% of people living in safe houses and will not achieve its aim of making Bristol safer for people fleeing violent relationships. She thinks that only giving priority housing to 10% of people living in safe houses will not free up enough bed space. And that it will still leave hundreds of people who are trying to flee violent relationships with nowhere to go.

Please let the council know how you feel about their plan by taking the survey.

Are you responding as a...

Current Domestic abuse services client
Former Domestic abuse service client
Domestic abuse practitioners, e.g. IDVAs, support workers
Bristol City Council employee
Partner organisation
Member of the public
Other

The aims of the policy are:
1) To significantly reduce the length of time it takes to rehouse high risk victims of domestic abuse and by doing this
2)To increase the availability of refuge/safe house places so more households can benefit from this safe and supportive environment

Do you agree with these aims?

Translation: The council want: 1) To make sure that people living in safe houses are able to move on to council houses quicker so that 2)There is more room in safe houses for people who are fleeing domestic violence

Agree
Partly agree
Disagree
Don’t know

If you do not agree and/or you think other aims should be included, please write here

2. Do you feel the policy will achieve these aims?

Do you think that the council plan will do this?

Yes
No
Don't know

Comments:

3. Do you agree that MARAC is the right forum for Band 1 recommendations to be made?

Do you think that police and social services should influence which people in safe houses get priority housing? "Yes" would mean they do, "No" would mean that this decision is made by safe houses and the people living in them

Yes
No
Don't know

4. Do you agree that areas of risk should be considered by MARAC to exclude areas where a person can bid on?

Do you think that police and social services should make sure that people are not offered a house in parts of Bristol where their abuser might visit or live?

Yes
No
Don't know

5. Should MARAC be making any other recommendations regarding housing?

Should police and social services be involved in any decisions about who gets housed?

Yes
No
Don't know

Do you have any further comments about the role of MARAC?

Do you have anything else to say about police and social services deciding which people get priority housing?

6. Do you agree that Band 1 should be awarded to high risk victims of domestic abuse when all other avenues have been explored and risks cannot be reduced through mitigation?

Do you think that the highest priority for social housing should only be given to people fleeing abuse once every other option has been tried first?

Yes
No
Don't know

Comments:

7. Should there be any conditions attached to awarding Band 1? For example – engaging with support, agreement to bid regularly, anything else?

In order to get placed on high the high priority list should people have to do things like go to counselling, speak to the police, and regularly ask to move?

The proposal is that Band 1 will be agreed for 3 months. Households are expected to bid on properties on a city wide basis, excluding those areas where they would be at risk, as agreed by MARAC. Our modelling shows that 3 months is enough time in Band 1 for households to make a successful bid.

8. Do you agree that high risk victims of domestic abuse should be awarded Band 1 for only 3 months?

Do you think 3 months is long enough for someone living in a safe house to find a home?

Yes
No
Don't know

9. In addition to the reasons stated in the draft policy, are there any other exceptions when the 3 month period should be extended?

If the council decides that 3 months is enough time for people to find a house, should some people be allowed to have longer if they have some special reason?

Please write exceptions or further comments on limiting time in Band 1 here:

If you have reasons why someone should be allowed to have longer than 3 months or if you think that 3 months isn’t long enough for anyone to find a home please write why here:

10. Should households that move into a refuge/safe house keep their Band 1 award?

Should people that move into a safe house/refuge be some of the highest priority for the council to put in a council house?

Yes
No
Don't know

11. Are there situations where people would benefit from staying longer in the supportive environment of a refuge/safe house rather than moving on too quickly?

Is there ever a reason that someone might be happier and safer in a refuge/safe house than in a council property?

If you have any further comments about moving on from refuge/safe house, please write here:

Please write anything else you want about why it's important for people to be able to leave safe houses and move into council properties here:

Do you have any further comments or suggestions you wish to make about any of the proposals?

If there was anything else that you wanted to say about the council’s decision to only put about 10% of people in safe houses into the top priority for housing please write that here

Your details

Name:

Email:

Postcode:

Domestic violence consultation

Survey time: 10 minutes