A COUNCIL is to review the support it has in place for domestic abuse victims after a report found there to be “fundamental problems” in its service provision.

Although workers at Darlington Borough Council were themselves praised in Dr Nicole Westmarland’s report, the structure of the authority’s domestic abuse unit was said to be in need of a complete overhaul.

Dr Westmarland, lecturer at Durham University and former chairwoman of Rape Crisis (England and Wales), said last night her report was in the main positive and that its recommendations were being heeded by the council.

The main points of concern were:

● The lack of a specialist domestic violence court for Darlington;

● The disempowerment of the voluntary sector in the borough;

● The positioning of some domestic violence services within social services offices, which caused some women to be reluctant to access support;

● The lack of specialist support for children and young people affected by domestic violence;

● Little out-of-office support for victims;

● A lack of understanding from some beat police officers, courts and the council’s children’s services team.

Measures have been recommended to tackle the identified problems and a council spokeswoman said progress was being made.

She added: “We have worked with partners to address the recommendations.

A review is under way to look at how we can change and adapt to improve the services and better meet the needs of victims in the future.”

Sergeant Carl Moss, who leads Darlington police’s domestic violence team, said he was not surprised by the findings.

“The report confirms some of the gaps that many people working in this environment thought there to be,” he added.

The council paid £10,000 for the report to be compiled, and Sgt Moss said he was keen to see the money was not wasted and that all the recommendations, not just those aimed at the authority, would be implemented.

Front line domestic abuse workers, in the police, charities and council, were praised for their dedication and knowledge. Darlington’s refuge also received an extremely positive report from both the professionals and the service users.

Concluding her report, Dr Westmarland said: “I am confident that after this ‘health check’, Darlington will move on to improve services even further and ultimately work towards ending all violence against men, women and girls.”