Agenda item

Officer: Guy Van Dichele

Key decision: no

The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care welcomed the joint working of the two Boards which had been outlined by Annie Callanan, Chair of the Croydon Safeguarding Adult Board (CSAB), and Di Smith, Chair of the Croydon Safeguarding Children Board (CBCB) at minute number 103/19.

The Cabinet Member noted that much work had been completed in 2018/19 by the CSAB and that the commitment of Board members had been excellent. However, it was recognised that some of the information in the report made for unhappy reading with three out of five victims knowing their perpetrator.

The work of the Board and the safeguarding team was noted and all involved were thanked for their commitment to investigating over 2,000 referrals.

The Chair of the CSAB gave a presentation to Cabinet informing Members that the Care Act 2014 was the first piece of legislation which mentioned adult safeguarding. The Board which included the three statutory members of the council, Police and CCG focused on meeting the requirements of arranging reviews of adult safeguarding, publishing the Board’s report and creating an annual strategic plan.

The report, the Chair stated, detailed the activity and effectiveness of the Board and, following previous requests, contained comparisons to 2017/18. Members were assured that all partners had been actively involved in the work of the Board.

The Hoarding Project with Mind was highlighted as having supported seven clients to clear their homes which had supported them to have better quality of lives. Awareness of trafficking and modern day slavery had also been raised and joint work on this would continue.

Members were informed that in terms of achievements; the Board had sought to learn from safeguarding adult review, there had been multi-agency intelligence sharing meetings, the CCG had commissioned training on the Significant 7 which taught people to recognise the seven key signs of deterioration, and the CCG had provided training on safeguarding at GP surgeries.

The Chair stated that a key priority had been to make safeguarding personal and to facilitate this feedback had been sought from those who had been safeguarding referrals in Croydon. The feedback had been positive with people feeling relieved, confident that they had a person to speak to, supported and grateful for being kept informed of progress. Whilst feedback had been positive it was recognised that this was an area which should be kept under review and improved as feedback from users was imperative to drive further improvements.

Members were informed that a new website for the Board had been launched and that there was a commitment to make better use of social media. A new Strategic Plan was in development and new themes and areas of focus were being identified. It was recognised by the Board that continued engagement with residents was important to support the desire by all Board Members to make improvements to adults safeguarding in Croydon.

Members recognised that a lot of hard work had gone into the Board and they were pleased to see the results of initiatives which had been introduced since 2014. The Homelessness Hub at Croydon University Hospital was welcomed by Members as it noted that joint working would support better outcomes.

The results of the Hoarding Project were congratulated and further work in this area was welcomed. The Chair of the CSAB confirmed that that project had been very successful and had delivered fantastic outcomes for residents and showed the value of working together.

The Leader thanked the Chairs of the CSCB and CSAB for their continued commitment to safeguarding in Croydon and welcomed the joint working of the Boards on priorities.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To note the Annual Report of the Croydon Safeguarding Adult Board and the report will be further considered by Cabinet on 18 November 2019.