How many individual domestic violence advisors are there in north Wales and south Wales respectively?
The landscape for Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) funding is complex. Many specialist sector posts are funded by multiple sources, including Welsh Government's Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) budget, UK government departments and other funders such as the National Lottery. Comprehensive data on the total number of posts in north and south Wales is therefore not currently held by the Welsh Government.
This is further complicated by the nature of IDVA and ISVA roles being varied, including specialist roles such as Children’s ISVAs and IDVAs. There are also specialist domestic abuse advisor roles which perform very similar functions but are not called IDVAs. Any VAWDASV professional is able to undertake IDVA or ISVA training which adds further intricacies in assessing accurately the number of advisors across Wales.
My officials will undertake an exercise to collate this information, ensuring it is robust and accurate, and I will write to the Member to provide an update once this is complete.