Agenda item

Alex Coman, Head of Safeguarding – Children’s Services and Claire Solley, Head of Service – Safeguarding Adults presented the Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2019-20. It was noted that this was the Partnership’s first report under the new arrangements and was a final draft version still awaiting validation from the Safeguarding Partnership’s Executive Leadership Group which was due to meet at the end of October. Key points highlighted included:

·         Safeguarding arrangements had been reviewed and the Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership worked towards strengthening the  collaborative working between Children and Adult Safeguarding and other strategic forums in the Borough. Legislative changes had introduced a new approach to safeguarding partnerships whereby the local authority, the local Clinical Commissioning Group and the Police shared equal responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable children;

·         Hillingdon was striving to be a pioneer in its collaborative safeguarding arrangements;

·         The report focused on work done by both the Safeguarding Children Partnership and the Safeguarding Adult Board;

·         There were still distinct areas of work and separate legal frameworks for children and adults but a collaborative shared approach was possible in a number of areas – the Modern Slavery Sub Group, the Practice Development Forum and a Serious Case Panel;

·         In terms of adults, the key priorities in 2019-20 were financial abuse, modern day slavery and domestic abuse. An ambitious action plan – ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ had commenced whereby the views of adults were at the centre of everything. 84% of individuals in safeguarding cases had been asked what they wanted to happen and 94% of these outcomes had been achieved. The total number of adult safeguarding concerns received by the local authority had increased by 20% year on year. A number of individuals had praised the local authority for the work undertaken to help them feel safe. Section 6.7 of the report outlined the work of the Provider Risk Panel and the Care Governance Board. These groups aimed to optimise the quality of the care and support delivered by providers within the Borough.  Section 6.8 highlighted the work of the high-performing Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard Team (DoLs). This team was recognised across London and nationally as an example of excellent practice. Areas to work on were to strengthen the voice of the adult with a move towards having lay Members and adults represented on the Safeguarding Adult Board. Work on the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) had commenced – this would sit alongside the existing children’s MASH to strengthen the approach across the Borough in responding to safeguarding concerns. This would also link to developments around domestic abuse - One Front Door;

·         In terms of children, colleagues and agencies who had contributed to the report were thanked for their hard work and commitment. Priorities in 2019-20 included the protection of children at risk of contextual safeguarding and a focus on neglect. It was anticipated that the new coherent strategy across all ages would lead to great outcomes.  Another key area of focus for the partnership was the learning from good practice both locally and nationally. The excellent work of the adolescent team was highlighted. The team had introduced an innovative way of working with vulnerable young people who were at high risk of exploitation and criminal activity. This innovative approach had been recognised both regionally and nationally. In January 2020, Children’s Services and the Partnership had been scrutinised by Ofsted and a very positive letter had been published by Ofsted on their website in February 2020. To engage children and young people, they were encouraged to participate in meetings and more than 300 looked after children had done so over the past year – either face to face, by phone, by video, via an advocate or in writing. Collaborative working had led to good placement stability which was a very positive outcome. The Committee was informed that the Children in Care Council had prepared and delivered a very insightful training session entitled ‘Walking in Our Shoes’ which focused on their experiences of being in care and what ‘good’ looked like. Following delivery of this training, feedback had been excellent. The Children in Care Council had also won an award for best community group which they had received in the House of Commons. The success of the Troubled Families Programme was also highlighted – above average successes had been achieved in turning around the lives of families in Hillingdon.

Members congratulated officers on their in-depth and focused report and were reassured to hear that the Partnership was working so successfully to safeguard all residents – both young and old.

In response to questions from the Committee, it was confirmed that, in cases of domestic abuse, the children involved were being safeguarded and their needs considered. Information was received in the multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) and a whole family approach was taken – consideration was always given to the needs of the children involved in such cases. The report mentioned the success of the Independent Domestic Violence Abuse (IDVA) service which was going from strength to strength in supporting victims of domestic abuse and their children. An IDVA colleague had been placed in Hillingdon Hospital to increase awareness of domestic abuse; this had led to an increase in referrals from 51 the previous year to 129 which was a positive development.

Members noted that some of the charts were a little unclear due to the lack of colour used in the printing process (pages 64 and 65 of the agenda pack). It was confirmed that there were always more concerns than enquiries –25% of concerns had progressed to enquiries which was an increase of 7% on the previous year. It was noted that adults did not always welcome interventions and therefore a concern may not progress to an enquiry in such cases.

The Committee requested clarification regarding the impact of Covid-19 on adult and children’s social care. It was confirmed that the report covered the previous financial year (to March 2020) and therefore did not focus on the Covid period itself. Members were advised that, during the Covid-19 period, officers had continued to contact residents in need of support. Essential visits had continued (having taken into account the necessary risk assessments) and members of the public had still been able to make contact in the usual ways – via the online forum, by phone, letter, email etc. In terms of training, the Partnership had contacted providers to ask them to deliver training virtually. The option of e-learning had been re-visited and some small Covid-secure workshops were also ongoing. The Professional Development Forum had also developed some strong guidance in relation to staff development. A multi-agency training matrix across children’s and adult social care was currently being worked on.

Councillors requested further clarification regarding the serious case review referred to in the report and enquired whether the 16 recommendations had been addressed. It was confirmed that the recommendations had been accepted when the review was published and the Safeguarding Partnership was monitoring implementation of those recommendations utilising a coherent tracking mechanism. A learning event involving nearly 200 participants had been planned for the end of March 2020 but had not taken place due to the pandemic. Instead a briefing note had been sent out and the action points were under constant review. The responsibility for safeguarding was shared between the local authority, the CCG and the Police who made up the Executive Leadership Board which held the Partnership to account. In response to Councillors’ requests for clarification, it was confirmed that a new National Safeguarding Panel had been introduced. Since September 2019, whenever a significant incident happened, the local authority and the safeguarding partners would have to arrange a Rapid Response meeting within 15 days to consider the incident and reach a decision regarding further action and the best way in which learning could be extracted. This decision was always shared with and scrutinised by the National Safeguarding Panel. It was confirmed that, during the financial year in question, all decisions made by LBH and partners had been endorsed by the National Safeguarding Panel.  

In response to questioning from the Committee, it was confirmed that LAC children were encouraged to complete a Children’s Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Officers worked closely with care providers and health colleagues to ensure that the person closest to the child helped them to complete the assessment. It was encouraging to see that the SDQ scores were continuing to decrease. If any child scored over 17, the MAPS or CAMHS service would be engaged to support them. 

Members sought reassurance that, at an operational level, the relevant agencies were committed and engaged and were attending meetings as required. It was confirmed that the attendance of police and health professionals, particularly at strategy meetings, was monitored. To improve police attendance, the Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Team (CAIT team) was now co-located in the MASH alongside domestic abuse officers, social workers and health colleagues. Police representatives attended Child Protection conferences and forums attended by the local authority and the police were held regularly. A new process had started during the year whereby the School nurses and health visitors were also notified of strategy discussions and child protection conferences with sufficient information and notice to enable them to attend. It was further confirmed that social workers were always in attendance at Child in Need meetings and Child Protection conferences.

Members thanked officers for the comprehensive reports and were reassured that steps were being taken to safeguard residents in Hillingdon.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted; and

2)    That delegated authority be granted to the Chairman and the Labour Lead in collaboration with Democratic Services to agree the wording of the POC’s comments on the report which was to be presented to Cabinet in October.