Cumbria's councils have received more than £700,000 to fund innovative solutions that will tackle domestic abuse in the county.

The funding, £729,877 in total, will be spent over the next two years to set up a coordinated approach to fighting abuse across all of Cumbria for the first time.

The money will be used to help those in crisis and to improve early identification of domestic abuse and early intervention so that fewer situations escalate to crisis point.

Across the county there will be a coordinated response not just to crisis situations but also early identification of domestic abuse and early intervention to prevent situations escalating to crisis points.

Tammie Rhodes, homeless, prevention and accommodation services manager at Carlisle City Council, said: "I think it will be absolutely fantastic for the city and it's probably the first time we have had a coordinated approach."

Carlisle City Council submitted the funding bid to the Department for Communities and Local Government in partnership with the other district and county councils.

The funding will be used across the county to:

  • Establish 12 emergency accommodation units for households in crisis. This will increase the number of units in Cumbria to 34 and ensure there is a mix of provision to support differing needs.
  • Employ a number of specially trained, domestic abuse officers. There are 5.8 full-time equivalent positions.
  • Employ a young persons independent domestic violence adviser.
  • Deliver a specialist training programme which will initially train 15 frontline accommodation officers. They will in turn then train other officers and teams countywide so that when the funding comes to an end in two years, there is a professional network of community domestic abuse champions.
  • Set up small grants for people in crisis situations.

The bid for funding was supported by Cumbria's police and crime commissioner, Peter McCall.

He said: “This is great news for victims of domestic abuse in Cumbria, and I am delighted that the bid was successful.

“We are committed to working together across local authority boundaries to strengthen provision, improve standards and services both to meet needs and prevent ongoing cycles and patterns of abusive behaviours and relationships.

"I’ve always said that I am a firm believer in ‘we, not they’, and this successful bid is a great example of what can be achieved by this approach.”