What assessment has the Government made of any gaps in the Children's Independent Domestic Violence Advisor provision for children under eight years old in Gwynedd and Anglesey, and across Wales, and what steps are being taken to address any failures noted?
The Welsh Government recognises that children affected by Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) experience significant trauma and require tailored support. The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 places duties on local authorities and Local Health Boards to plan their response to VAWDASV jointly through their local or regional VAWDASV strategies, based on their assessment of the services needed to meet the needs of children and young people in their areas.
While there is no separate, designated budget line for children in this draft budget, their needs are met in part through our core grant funding to all six regions in Wales. Each individual region including North Wales funds a range of activities and services according to local need, including provision of Children’s Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (CHIDVA) roles and Child Key Workers. Additionally, other Government departments including Social Services, Education, and Health contribute to supporting those children and young people experiencing VAWDASV.
In addition, the landscape for Independent Domestic Violence Advisor funding is complex. Many specialist sector posts are funded by multiple sources, including Welsh Government's Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence budget, UK Government departments and other funders. 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.
The Welsh Government therefore does not currently hold comprehensive data on posts, including Children’s Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (CHIDVAs).
Our grant award letters to the regions require them to consider the needs of survivors in their local areas and provide support to people of all ages. This includes specialised support for children and young people who may have experienced VAWDASV. In addition, regions are required to abide by the Welsh Language Act and ensure provision is available in Welsh across all areas, where required. This year (2026-27) we will undertake a national mapping exercise of specialist services and pathways for children and young people. This will provide a clearer picture of current provision in North Wales and identify, based on evidence, the services that best support children and young people to recover and heal from the impact of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
In addition, in 2025 the Ministry of Justice published Statutory Guidance under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 on independent advocacy roles for victims, including Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Abuse Advisors (IDVAs). The Welsh Government have undertaken an engagement exercise with stakeholders to consider if this guidance meets the needs of victims and survivors, practitioners and service providers in Wales – options are currently being considered based on feedback.
As part of this exercise, we are currently mapping the landscape of all Independent Sexual Violence Advisor and Independent Domestic Violence Advisor roles across Wales, to support in understanding how needs of all victims are met across Wales. This will improve the intelligence Welsh Government has and will be shared with commissioners across Wales to ensure there is no duplication, or gap in provision, across both devolved and reserved authorities.