Agenda item

This report presents the fourth Annual Report of the Safeguarding Adult Executive Board (SAEB). The multi-agency Board provides leadership of adult safeguarding across the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham; the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; and the City of Westminster.

Councillor Richardson welcomed Mike Howard, the former triborough, Independent Chair, of the Safeguarding Adults Executive Board (SAEB).  This was the final, annual report of the triborough SAEB, following disaggregation. Mr Howard confirmed that he had been appointed as chair of the new SAEB, for Hammersmith & Fulham, as of 1 July 2018.  Mr Howard commented that he was very proud of the report (which covered the period 2017/18), and which was presented in a similar format to that of previous years.  The format was in the style of a magazine to make it easier, and more interesting to read.  Many organisations worked collaboratively and in partnership, to support the work the SAEB, and the report showed how safeguarding was not just the responsibility of the Council. 

The SAEB helped keep the people of the Borough safe, protecting those at risk of either physical, emotional, or financial harm, making a positive difference to the quality of lives.  The SAEB advocated a person centric focus, supporting an individual’s personal choices, rather than what a practitioner might recommend was in that person’s best interests. Using the example of people with dementia, it was important to understand that there were differing levels of need and that service commissioners needed to be aware that there were a wide range of symptoms to be accommodated appropriately.  The back of the report (page 26) listed statistics, from which the safeguarding journey could be inferred.  Some examples included: the percentage of adults in the population without support; the number of safeguarding enquiries received; the percentage of those at risk; and the impact of the enquiry on the person identified as at risk.

The review period ended at 31 March 2018, and a detailed breakdown of the number of enquiries received was provided and categorised, according to type and outcome.  An ongoing concern had been the lack case closure.  Two out of three cases resulted in successful outcomes but more closure of cases was required. Although more recently, it was confirmed that there was a higher rate of closure, with greatly improved outcomes.  It was also important to understand that in some cases, the risk remained.  Frequently, where the abuser was a son or daughter, people were reluctant for the matter to formally progress and did not want the police involved. 

Councillor Richardson commended the report, and noted that the key issues were well documented.  The report was easy to read and brought safeguarding issues to life.  Councillor Richardson congratulated Mr Howard on his appointment and his continuing role.  It was confirmed that the SAEB was newly established and held its first meeting in September, maintaining an ethos of engaging directly with communities.  All the sub-groups of the Board where chaired by professional leads from other agencies, and not the Council: 

1. Safeguarding Adults Review - Chaired by the Head of Safeguarding for the West London Mental Health Trust.  This sub-committee undertook middle-management reviews of cases to understand what was going wrong;

2. Co-production - To look at established policies and procedures, to evaluate if they were achieving the required outcomes; and

3. Prevention and awareness – To establish what local communities want to prioritise; to analyse whether safeguarding messages are being effectively communicated and how these could be better targeted.

Mr Howard explained that there were four co-chairs, with diverse backgrounds, for example, the Board had recently recruited the chair of governors from HM Wormwood Scrubs Prison.  Further recruitment continued to appoint members of the sub-group, which was to be confirmed at a meeting on 29 January 2019.  It was noted that Councillor Patricia Quigley had recently been appointed to the SAEB. 

Councillor Lloyd-Harris endorsed the Chair’s comments, observing that the report was very comprehensive and easy to read.  She asked how the SAEB had advertised for appoints to the Board and its sub-groups.  Mr Howard explained that they had relied upon contacts within the Council and thanked Susan Hughes for her assistance and support.  An event had been hosted by QPR Football Club and they had relied upon word of mouth, rather than physical adverts.  There had been a reasonable response and take up. 

Councillor Lloyd-Harris commented on the issue of older people experiencing domestic abuse by a young person (son or daughter), or by a person living in the same household, and the increase in such cases.  It was understood that the Violence Against Women and Girls group, had done considerable work in highlighting the issue, to ensure that those experiencing domestic violence were as much a concern as the perpetrators.  The Board benefitted greatly from the appointment of Sally Jackson, from FiLiA but it was important to avoid any duplication of work, and synchronise with the work of other safeguarding teams.

Councillor Umeh endorsed the report, which was commended. She enquired about how the Board worked with those whose first language was not English and how language barriers were addressed.  Mr Howard outlined how the Board benefitted from members coming from a range of diverse backgrounds.  One of the chairs originated from Malaysia, for example.   Their perspective and advice was both helpful and unique, and ensured that there was clear communication.

Councillor Caleb-Landy echoed earlier comments from his colleagues, and congratulated Mr Howard on an excellent report, which had brought to life a range of issues. He enquired about how the SAEB’s local statistics compared to national figures.  Although the figures were only recently released, it was still not possible to draw comparisons due in part to the way which cases were classified and outcomes recorded.  For example, some SAEBs include an enquiry in their count, other count the enquiry being taken forward.  Ms Redfern informed the Committee that an interim Head of Safeguarding had recently been appointed and that it was possible to circulate statistics for members of the Committee.  It was noted that as a result, the number of referrals had increased and that the quality of performance had improved. Mr Howard added that they had deliberately avoided the inclusion of too many statistics.

ACTION: LR to circulate safeguarding statistics to the Committee

Councillor Caleb-Landy asked about the number of safeguarding incidents resolved in LBHF, how many went on to appeal, and how many made an application for review to the local government ombudsman.  Ms Redfern confirmed that to her knowledge, there were no such cases. Mr Howard corroborated this view, and added that he had never reviewed any data about complaints, during his 9-year tenure as Chair.

Councillor Kwon also commended the report and hoped that it would be widely distributed.  On the issue of scams and fraud, she enquired about the level of interaction undertaken with banks and other financial institutions.  Victims often became victims twice over, as they tried to claim back any losses, having to deal with hostile banking staff.  It was explained that the Board did not undertake this work directly itself but instead, relied upon the expertise of support staff, and referred to pages 20 and 21 of the report.  There was a national requirement for banks to be more victim focussed and co-operative.  They were also working with Royal Mail to raise awareness of the issue, given the concerns around identify theft.  This was often an overlooked area of safeguarding and some of these individuals were often very lonely, and isolated, and unfortunately regarded scammers as friends.  Work was undertaken with Barclays, for example.  This was also an opportunity to involve local community groups.

Co-optee Jen Nightingale asked about the process for referral and how this operated in practice.  Ms Redfern explained that referrals did not just originate from agencies, which were wide ranging and included health and social care.  Informally, referrals also came from carers.  As awareness of safeguarding continued to increase, the net will broaden.  There was also an increased focus on prevention, working with different community and residential groups. Mr Howard added that in health, for example, pressure sores were a safeguarding concern and Ms Redfern confirmed that she would be happy to provide the Committee with further information about this issue.

ACTION: LR to provide the Committee with information about safeguarding work undertaken with NHS colleagues on pressure sores

Councillor Richardson thanked Mr Howard and those involved with the production of the 2017/18 report, and looked forwarded to reviewing the first report of the newly appointed sovereign board for the Borough, covering 2018/19.  Raising awareness of safeguarding concerns with professional organisations was recognised as a critical area of work, particularly in terms of identifying what constituted a safeguarding risk.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.