Agenda and minutes

None

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 July 2021 be confirmed and signed by the Chair. 

To receive the annual report from the Independent Chair of the Local Safeguarding Partnership.

The Committee heard an overview of the Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report from the Independent Chair of the Local Safeguarding Partnership. They heard that this was the last time that the report was to be presented in this format and the Committee would receive a dedicated Adult Safeguarding report moving forwards. This was due to the decision to create a separate Children and Adults Board. It was noted that it had been a challenging year but that partners had continued to provide effective safeguarding as indicated by the positive results of assurance exercises.

Members heard that they received equal funding from Health, the Local Authority and the police which was also reflected in their executive. The Independent Chair cited the success of the Adult Criminal Exploitation Sub-Group which worked with those who didn't meet the threshold but still required help. This alongside a recently set up perpetrators group provided key early intervention. They commended the work of the Adult Social Care team who were found to be exceptional as part of ADAS peer review. There was also more that could be done, but the Independent Chair highlighted that they had strong partnership working.

Members asked a number of questions:

Where there any weaknesses that they had identified or areas where the Health Scrutiny Committee could add value?

Capacity was always an issue. They had focused on children's mental health issues as SaTH had prevented access to services due to oversubscription. This had only be worsened by the pandemic. The Independent Chair sought the Committee's assistance in assuring that the right communication was going out to adults regarding accessing the correct services. Members of the Committee concurred that mental health was a concern and would be subject to further scrutiny.

There were also concerns about the level of influence they would have once the Clinical Care Group moved to an Integrated Care System.

In the report it was indicated that the number of children subject to child protection was lower than at the same point in 2020. However, the Borough's number of looked after children rose. How were the two related as they appeared contradictory?

The numbers reported throughout the pandemic were not necessarily accurate, with some things being hidden. The Independent Chair noted that it was doubtful that there was a dramatic reduction in the number of referrals but with school closures during the pandemic they were not being referred through that route. He stated that this was not a challenge that was going away but Family Safeguarding did work very hard to prevent children going into care.

There were case studies cited in the report. What was support was offered in these cases and what was the monitoring process?

Whilst the Independent Chair was unable to provide the outcomes of individual cases but the priority was always to prevent children going into care so ongoing support to the family to prevent that. In the instances where it could not be presented, ongoing support was provided. Recommendations made as  ...  view the full minutes text for item HAC-25

To receive a verbal presentation from the Director for Adult Social Care, Telford & Wrekin Council.

The Director: Adult Social Care provided the Committee with an update on the position of Adult Social Care within Telford & Wrekin. Members heard that the Adult Social Care Service Plan and Position Statement were informed of partners and strategies and underpinned by the Adult Social Care Charter. They highlighted the recently finished Autism consultation and the upcoming update to the Place Based Mental Health Strategy in conjunction with the Telford & Wrekin Integrated Place Partnership (TWIPP). Providing specialist and supported accommodation was key to keeping people in their own homes in their own community. The Director: Adult Social care advised that the quality assurance framework related to this could be provided following the meeting. 

Post-Covid there had been an increase in demand and the complexity of the issues they were dealing with. In order to manage these challenges they had worked closely with Shropshire Providers in Care and the Making It Real Board. The experience of people with lived experience had also been invaluable. The Director: Adult Social Care informed the Committee that the lessons learnt through Covid had made them appreciate the role of their partners even more.

Members heard that workforce recruitment and staff retention continued to be key across the system. This had led to the commissioning of different types of care to manage those challenges. Enablement grants had allowed care providers to manage staffing gaps and the introduction of new technology had allowed for virtual visiting. This was all in aid of supporting people at home where possible. It was noted that the Independent Living Centre was closed during Covid but was now re-opened and providing bookable appointments and drop-in sessions with health professionals. The Council had been actively involved a dedicated recruitment campaign that included promotion of the 'you can care' social media campaign. It was noted that partnership working had been essential to support the care provider market to be more flexible.

The Director: Adult Social Care informed the Committee that they had worked with the Inter-Disciplinary Discharge Team based within SaTH to co-ordinate a 7 day hospital discharge service. This had ran into difficulty though when outbreaks had prevented 91% of care homes in the Borough from accepting people. It was advised that they were in a much better position now though. Members heard that the Health & Social Care Rapid Response Team had continued to receive an average of 55 referrals a week, which worked to avoid hospital admission through targeted support.

Looking to the future there was a number of upcoming consultations regarding the supporting older people strategy and the placed based carers strategy that the Director: Adult Social Care was happy to discuss with the Committee at a later date. Members heard that the first part of the Autism Strategy consultation had just come to an end and that an analysis report would be published by Autism West Midlands in May 2022 for further consultation. The learning disability strategy that was discussed at a previous meeting of the Committee subject to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item HAC-26

The Committee agreed to discuss this item at a later date in a workshop setting.

The Chair advised that Scrutiny Work-Programme planning was underway for the next municipal year and members should direct any suggestions to Democratic Services.