A top accreditation for supporting victims of domestic abuse has been awarded to Mansfield District Council.

It has become the first local authority in Nottinghamshire to achieve the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) Accreditation (Foundational), a UK benchmark.

The entire workforce has been trained to be more aware of the signs of domestic abuse and how to support survivors, who can look out for ribbons and badges worn by council staff if they want to access support.

The council said it will listen to what people need and discuss choices to enable them to make informed decisions about their lives.

Adam Hill, council chief executive, said: “We are very proud to have achieved this accreditation. We are the first local authority in Nottinghamshire to achieve this, and the first anywhere in the country to use an independent charity, Nottinghamshire Woman’s Aid, to support us through it.

“Every department has been involved in helping us achieve this and it’s been a fantastic example of us all working together.

“It should help council workers have more confidence in identifying domestic abuse and knowing how to respond if and when they encounter it — and this should have a positive impact for our customers.

“We hope they will view the council as a safe opportunity for them to disclose abuse, and in a way that empowers them.”

Christie Conroy, of Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid, led the co-ordination of the DAHA project at the council, delivering learning programmes that were tailored for every department to help officers spot indicators of domestic abuse and respond safely and effectively.

It meant, for example, that a housing repairs team was encouraged to spot damage at properties that could indicate abuse, while reception staff learned to look out for a visitor displaying, for instance, an air of fearfulness.

Judith Vickress, DAHA programme manager for domestic abuse charity Standing Together, said the council was doing excellent work.

“Mansfield can be proud of achieving this accreditation because we certainly do not make it easy for the very reason that we consider every standard through the survivor lens,” she added.

“I was really excited to hear of the model you adopted locally to work in partnership with Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid Ltd. This is the first area to have done this and it’s absolutely shown how it can be done and in a remarkably short time, too.”

DAHA now plans to showcase the Mansfield model of project delivery as good practice and encourage other authorities to work similarly in partnership with their specialist domestic abuse services.

The cost of meeting the standards of the accreditation was met by funding from Nottinghamshire County Council, which has a statutory duty to provide safe accommodation for domestic abuse survivors and their children, and the government.

Jonathan Gribbin, director of Public Health at the county council, said: “We congratulate Mansfield District Council on leading the way in Nottinghamshire and being the first district to achieve DAHA accreditation.

“This is a fantastic example of how partnership working can be used to improve responses to domestic abuse across Nottinghamshire.”