Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Boards, the purpose of which was to bring to the Committee’s attention the Business Plans 2015-16 for Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Children Board (LRLSCB) and Safeguarding Adults Board (LRSAB) for consultation and consideration.  Due to the nature of the Committee’s work and function only Business Plan for Safeguarding Adults Board was discussed. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 11’ is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed Paul Burnett, Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Boards to introduce the report and answer questions and Mr. D. Houseman, Cabinet Lead Member for Adults Social Care to comment on the report.

The Independent Chair explained this year there was a need to disaggregate plans for LRLSCB and LRSAB to reflect the changes in the policy brought about by Care Act 2014. Although the priorities for delivery of the plans remained the same as the previous year, the actions underpinning the delivery of the priorities had changed.

The Director for Adults and Communities reiterated that significant progress had been made in adult safeguarding prior to the Care Act, which had now introduced statutory obligations for local authorities including the statutory duty to respond. Over the next 12 months, the intention was to achieve a personalised approach to safeguarding adults in order to ensure it was not perceived as bureaucratic.

Mr Houseman, the Cabinet Lead Member stated that paragraph 1.2, page 45 of the report did not include information or specific training for elected members on making safeguarding referrals. He further advised that paragraph 2b.3, page 47 should include “domiciliary care” with regards to priorities set out to ensure that adults are receiving safe care in their own homes as well as in the residential establishments and that ongoing work was underway to make guidance clear.

Members welcomed Mr Houseman’s comment particularly in relation to member training and support on what constituted a safeguarding issue and the process to be followed.

The following points were raised with regards to the report:-

(i)            The Ann Craft Trust had produced a report on the reasons for increases in the number of adult safeguarding alerts in 2013/14 that included a range of recommendations for the future recording and monitoring of safeguarding alerts, contacts and referrals.  These recommendations would be considered by the Safeguarding Adults Board at its meeting in July 2015.

(ii)          Work was under way on how the process of making safeguarding referrals could be focused and directed at the right audiences. In this regard the Committee was advised of the importance of the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH) as single point of contact to enable a more effective response and to develop a threshold on when it would be appropriate to make a referral.

(iii)         That members of public were provided with a range of means to report safeguarding issues including the internet, telephone number and pocket-sized information cards were regularly distributed.  

(iv)         Concerns that transition from children to adult services might result in some service users falling through the gaps of the system, was recognised and to that end bespoke complex training was being provided to staff to tackle this issue.

(v)          The concerns of Healthwatch Leicestershire regarding the importance of better communication and joint working between organisations involved in safeguarding was recognised and was an area under constant monitoring and review.

(vi)         That a role of the Adults Care Manager would have an audit function to provide a professional and practical leadership on the Help to Live at Home (HTLAH) project, so that common standards were applied to all care settings.

RESOLVED:

That the Business Plan for Local Safeguarding Children Board and Safeguarding Adults Board 2015-16 be noted.