Agenda item

The Panel considered the draft Annual Report of the Slough Safeguarding Adults Board which set out the work of the partnership between April 2013 and March 2014.  Members noted that the Board, which brought together the Council, Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS partners, Thames Valley Police and other organisations, provided strategic leadership on the safeguarding of adults and was now in its sixth year of operation.

The key developments detailed in the 2013/14 report were summarised as follows:

• The Care Act 2014 had enshrined safeguarding adults in legislation and put Safeguarding Adults Boards on a statutory footing.
• The Board had developed and signed a ‘Multi-Agency Risk Framework’ policy and individual agencies had updated their policies accordingly.
• There had been an increase in the number of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard applications from 15 in 2012/13 to 24 in 2013/14.  This figure was anticipated to rise significantly due to recent case law.
• Improvements had been made to the referral process between the partner agencies when visiting properties.
• There had been a decreased number of alerts in Slough from 499 in 2012/13 to 452 in 2013/14, due to a combination of demographic factors, the work of the Care Governance Board and the move of the mental health in-patient resource from Wexham Park to Upton Hospital in Reading.
• There had been an increase in the proportion of cases in which Police action had been taken, up from 6% of alerts/referrals to 18%, however, the number of successful prosecutions remained low and it was recognised that further work was required.
• Eleven strategic priorities had been identified for 2014/15 which built on the work of the board over the previous 12 months.

(Councillor Dhillon joined the meeting)

Members asked about the reasons behind the significant proportion of cases of reported abuse which resulted in either no action or the outcome was unknown following investigation.  In response, Members were informed that there were a range of reasons, often because the accusation was unsubstantiated, and only a small number of reports were considered to be malicious.  It was noted that the Council and Thames Valley Police worked closely together to take the necessary action arising from reports of abuse, although further work was needed with the Crown Prosecution Service as the number of prosecutions remained low.  Members were reassured that other steps could be taken, for example disciplinary proceedings, in cases where Police action or prosecution was not pursued and Disclosure and Barring Service checks would highlight any significant issues of concern during the recruitment process.

The Panel requested further information on the outcomes for alleged perpetrators following alert or referral, specifically the numbers of cases where disciplinary action had been taken, and it was agreed that this would be circulated to the Panel following the meeting.  The Panel also considered the issue of under-reporting of alerts from certain groups in the community and it was noted that further work was being undertaken to understand the reasons.

A range of other issues were discussed including the challenges of partnership working and the funding of the Board.  Changes to the membership and governance arrangements, including the establishment of a new Executive Group chaired by the Assistant Director of Adult Social Care, were amongst the steps taken to improve the ‘buy in’ from all partners, who would have a statutory responsibility to engage under the Care Act.  In relation to funding, partners were contributing circa £4,000 per annum to support the work of an Independent Chair and the costs of any Serious Case Reviews.  Members also questioned the ability to deliver services in view of the financial challenges facing the Council and it was responded that the Council would continue to seek to commission good value and safe services with the budget available.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Chair thanked the officers for their presentation.

Resolved –

(a)  That the Annual Report of the Slough Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board be noted.

(b)  That the Panel receive a more detailed breakdown of the outcomes for alleged perpetrators arising from an alert or referral.