Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING TEAM LEADER

To receive and comment on the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function with regard to children and adults at risk.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function with regard to children be noted;

(2)       That the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function with regard to adults be noted;

(3)       That it be agreed that sufficient and robust processes were in place at NHDC for application and review of safeguarding processes, and that an annual review and presentation to this committee should continue.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To fulfil the statutory and lawful obligations within the approved budget and officer resources, and to ensure that a regular corporate review exists.

Audio recording - 23 minutes 11 seconds

Councillor Judi Billing, Executive Member for Community Engagement presented the report entitled Annual Review of Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Adults (2019-20) together with the following appendices:

·                Safeguarding Adults at Risk – Action Plan for Recommendations arising from HSAB Self-Assessment Process (September Quarterly Update);

·                North Herts District Council Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Action Plan (Apr 20 to Mar 21).

The Executive Member for Community Engagement informed Members that the report covered the period up to March 2020 when the pandemic started.

The following Members asked questions and took part in discussion:

·                Councillor David Levett;

·                Councillor Sue Ngwala;

·                Councillor Claire Strong

Member discussion included:

·                an acknowledgement that the pandemic would affect the reporting and identifying of abuse due to lockdowns and that lower reporting figures might not reflect the real-life situation;

·                reporting figures were reviewed monthly at the Police and Crime Commissioner meetings;

·                there was a real risk that some safeguarding issues may not be picked up due to the circumstances brought about by lockdowns;

·                there was also a risk that older people had suffered from neglect as a result of the pandemic but it was also noted that the pandemic had brought many communities closer together;

·                the role of schools and social landlords checking in on people was noted;

·                safeguarding training had been very useful and was recommend to all members.

The Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader drew attention to the following:

·                Section 8.8 of the report looked at the impact of Covid-19 on safeguarding;

·                Some analysis had been done comparing the period of April to September 2019 to 2020;

·                Referrals for both children and adults for reasons other than domestic abuse had remained static or dropped slightly in 2020;

·                It was known that more abuse was taking place within homes as a result of the pandemic conditions;

·                Domestic abuse referral rates had risen significantly in 2020;

·                Any reduction of referrals was thought to be down to a decrease in contact with professionals so the safeguarding team, in conjunction with Herts County, the Police and all agencies involved, were trying to encourage members of the public to be observant and report any concerns.

Members thanked the Safeguarding Team for their valuable work in safeguarding children and adults in the community.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function with regard to children be noted;

(2)       That the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function with regard to adults be noted;

(3)       That it be agreed that sufficient and robust processes were in place at NHDC for application and review of safeguarding processes, and that an annual review and presentation to this committee should continue.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To fulfil the statutory and lawful obligations within the approved budget and officer resources, and to ensure that a regular corporate review exists.