Policies supporting adults with disability
Case reference FOI2026/01223
Received 26 May 2026
Published 19 June 2026
Request
A. Policy frameworks
- Do your safeguarding policies contain specific provisions for disabled adults in romantic or intimate partner relationships?
o If so, please provide the relevant sections of these policies.
- Do your Domestic Abuse policies contain specific provisions for disabled adults in romantic or intimate partner relationships?
o If so, please provide the relevant sections of these policies.
- Do your policies make provision for reasonable adjustments when supporting disabled adults experiencing domestic abuse?
o If so, please provide the relevant sections of these policies, and any relevant provisions made.
B. Accessibility and disclosure
- Please provide any policies, protocols, or guidance relating to how disabled adults can disclose domestic abuse within your organisation.
- Please provide any policies or procedures relating to how your organisation ensures the safety of disabled adults following disclosure of domestic abuse.
- Please provide any policies or procedures, protocols or guidance relating to how your organisation offers education or educational material to disabled adults regarding romantic and intimate relationships.
- Is information about domestic abuse made available in accessible formats (eg Easy Read, British Sign Language and other alternative formats)?
o If so, please provide examples or links.
C. Training
- Please provide details of any training materials, guidance, or frameworks used to train staff in supporting disabled persons experiencing domestic abuse from an intimate partner.
- Does your organisation have specialist roles or officers focused on disability and domestic abuse?
o If so, please provide role descriptions.
D. Prevention and early intervention
- Does your organisation have any policies, strategies, or programmes relating to:
o Prevention of domestic abuse involving disabled adults in intimate and romantic relationships. If so, please include any documentation relating to these early interventions in such cases
• If so, please include any documentation relating to schemes such as Clare’s Law as applied to disabled individuals.
Response
A. Policy frameworks
- Do your safeguarding policies contain specific provisions for disabled adults in romantic or intimate partner relationships?
A: Herefordshire Council have an internal policy. Disabled adults is not specifically included in the Herefordshire Council Internal Staff Policy for Domestic Abuse. The policy is inclusive of all protective characteristics.
o If so, please provide the relevant sections of these policies.
A: N/A
- Do your Domestic Abuse policies contain specific provisions for disabled adults in romantic or intimate partner relationships?
A: No. The policy is inclusive of all protective characteristics.
o If so, please provide the relevant sections of these policies.
A: N/A
- Do your policies make provision for reasonable adjustments when supporting disabled adults experiencing domestic abuse?
A: Yes. The offer for reasonable adjustments is universal regardless of any protected characteristics.
o If so, please provide the relevant sections of these policies, and any relevant provisions made.
A: 4.4 Consideration will be given to requests made to change working patterns to support staff on a temporary basis. This may be to be moved away from customer-facing positions, or phone calls being diverted to prevent the abused victim being targeted at work.
B. Accessibility and disclosure
- Please provide any policies, protocols, or guidance relating to how disabled adults can disclose domestic abuse within your organisation.
A: Guidance on disclosure is freely available on the staff intranet for all members of staff. Disclosure is encourage firstly to a line-manager, then to a mental health first aider, finally to another trusted colleague. Please see attached the Herefordshire Council Internal Staff Policy for Domestic Abuse
- Please provide any policies or procedures relating to how your organisation ensures the safety of disabled adults following disclosure of domestic abuse.
A: Following disclosure consent for a referral into local support services would be sought which would enable safety planning.
- Please provide any policies or procedures, protocols or guidance relating to how your organisation offers education or educational material to disabled adults regarding romantic and intimate relationships.
A: No identified policy is held.
- Is information about domestic abuse made available in accessible formats (eg Easy Read, British Sign Language and other alternative formats)?
o If so, please provide examples or links.
A: All publicly available council documents are required to be accessible.
C. Training
- Please provide details of any training materials, guidance, or frameworks used to train staff in supporting disabled persons experiencing domestic abuse from an intimate partner.
A: In 2023 and 2024 the Community Safety Partnership commissioned a course on “Domestic Abuse and Learning Difficulties in Adults,” which ran twice as part of the commissioned domestic abuse courses. There were 20 attendees in total. – there are no policies regarding disabled persons experiencing domestic abuse from an intimate partner.
- Does your organisation have specialist roles or officers focused on disability and domestic abuse?
o If so, please provide role descriptions.
A: The Domestic Abuse Coordinator is responsible for leading and coordinating the council’s response to domestic abuse under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, including supporting the Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board and delivering the local strategy and action plan. The role focuses on strategic coordination, partnership working, and service development, including analysing needs data, evaluating services, identifying gaps, and supporting commissioning and contract management.
D. Prevention and early intervention
- Does your organisation have any policies, strategies, or programmes relating to:
o Prevention of domestic abuse involving disabled adults in intimate and romantic relationships. If so, please include any documentation relating to these early interventions in such cases
A: Not specific to Disabled adults
• If so, please include any documentation relating to schemes such as Clare’s Law as applied to disabled individuals.
A: N/A
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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