Council extends domestic abuse charity contract as ‘moral duty’

The Royal Borough decided to extend its contract with a domestic abuse charity as a 'moral duty' to support victims across Maidenhead and Windsor.

The Government's Domestic Abuse Act 2021 sets out that local authorities have an obligation to ensure victims of domestic abuse can access support.

The abusive behaviours listed in the act include physical or sexual abuse, violent, threatening or coercive behaviours, as well as economic and emotional abuse.

Children who witness the effects of the abuse are also considered to be victims.

To tackle the problem, the Royal Borough introduced the Domestic Abuse Strategy 2024-2027.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (December 16), councillors decided to extend the council’s contract with DASH Charity for the next three years, with an optional further one-year extension.

DASH also looks after victims of domestic abuse, providing services such as signposting, support with safe accommodation and restorative programmes for children and young people.

This year, 903 people contacted the charity for support. Out of these cases, 42 were directed to Dash’s high-risk service, an Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy (IDVA) team.

The new DASH contract will start from April next year and will cost the Royal Borough £160,225 per year from 2026/2027 to 2029/30, totalling to £640,900.

It will be funded through the current budget plan, including £30,000 from the council’s Housing Services budget.

Councillor Catherine Del Campo (Lib Dem, Furze Platt) said: “One of our statutory duties and moral duties is to provide support to adults, families and children impacted by domestic abuse.

“We are sadly seeing an increase in demand for these services.”

According to Thames Valley Police data, there were 3,105 domestic abuse incidents in Windsor and Maidenhead during 2024/2025.

This has increased compared to Thames Valley Police statistics from the previous year, when 3,030 such cases were recorded. But the ‘true scale is likely to be higher’ according to the report.

The charity’s helpline is open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Thursday and 9.30am to 12pm on Friday on 01753 549865.

Alternatively, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free and operates 24/7 on 0808 2000 247 and in an emergency, people are advised to call 999.