Decision details

The Greater Manchester Harm Reduction Partnership (St Mary’s SARC, We Are Survivors and Greater Manchester Rape Crisis) have developed a joint approach to reducing trauma and harm for victims, their family and friends -who have been subject to delayed, vacated and adjourned trials because of the Crown Court Backlog.

This approach sees GM organisations work together as a trauma-informed system, in the best interests of victims and survivors. It is based on inter-operability and a shared understanding of the importance sustaining capability and capacity across the workforce.

Using a Trauma Informed Harm Reduction Approach to:
• Strengthen Workforce Capability & Capacity
• Expand Victim-led Resilience Responses
• Enable Family and Friends Support Networks
• Deliver System Interoperability
• Advocate for change with a collective voice.
•
To develop a GM System will take time and commitment from all partners.
The ambition is to create a sustainable workforce and develop skills and expertise.

Matching pay grades across the health service and voluntary sector will be challenging, but it is achievable over time, with a structured approach.
The aim is to develop a different cohort of staff to ISVAs but at a similar grade to:
• Allow ISVAs to concentrate on their main role.
• Create career pathways to mitigate staff attrition.
• Develop a system-wide sustainable model of interventions.
• Increase support to families and peer networks.

An evaluation will be undertaken over the course of the two years. Project leads will allow the development of a triage system for referrals between services based on

Capacity
• Caseloads.
• Family networks fatigued.
• Vacated cases.
Capability
• Focus on CJS navigation – not the person.
• High levels of mental unwellness and crises.
• Attrition – feeling unsafe.

Therefore, impacts will be measured on waiting lists and caseloads, feelings of safety and levels of trauma.

£600,000 (£300,000 per annum) be committed (2024 -2026) to the Greater Manchester Harm Reduction Partnership to deliver the GM RAOSSO Nightingale Programme to increase support service reliance to deliver additional support to victims who are subject to trial delays. This is a shared contribution between the GMCA and Health.

The proposal was agreed at the Justice and Rehabilitation Executive on 18th March 2024.