Agenda item

This report includes an Annual Report discussing the work of members of the City of York Safeguarding Adults Board to carry out and deliver the objectives of the strategic plan during 2024/25.

It also includes the City of York Safeguarding Adults Board strategic plan for 2025-28.

The item was presented by the Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Adult Board. The Assistant Director of Adults and Integration assisted her with questions from board members.

The Independent Chair noted that the purpose of her presentation was not to invite a decision from board members, but to update them on the work of the Safeguarding Adults Board in the year 2024/25 and its strategy for 2025-28.

She explained that in York the Chief Operating Officer had delegated responsibilities to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Integration as well as the Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing, and Adult Social Care at City of York Council, who were the key points of professional and political accountability. She added that agencies and providers also had responsibilities to promote well-being and provide advice, regardless of whether a statutory adult safeguarding duty applied, or whether the local authority had identified an action for itself following a safeguarding inquiry. She stressed that CYSAB endorsed the collaborative, preventative, neighbourhood approach being advocated in other items on the agenda.

She discussed the three core duties of the CYSAB:

1.    To develop and publish a strategic plan setting out how CYSAB would meet its objectives, and how member and partner agencies would contribute.

2.    To publish an annual report which detailed how effective its work had been.

3. To commission Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) for any cases which met the SAR criteria.

She noted that the voice of the lived experience of adults was important to the board and they had strengthened and focused in on this in the past year. It was not merely an issue of data, rather the board was working to let the voice of those adults influence its work as a partnership.

She stated that work on the three year strategy 2022-25 had been concluded in the past year, embedding guidance for professionals and staff working around safeguarding. Partnership working had been strengthened, and more emphasis had been placed on organisations that represented people in the City of York. Self-Neglect Practice Guidance had been published, because it was felt from studying SARs that this was an area that required systemic improvement. Other improvements included publishing guidance to encourage frontline staff to have better professional curiosity, to assist in responding to situations, and to establish an escalation protocol.

She noted that statistics showed concerns increasing year on year by at least 10%, this year was no exception, and she did not anticipate this changing in the future. She stressed that this didn’t mean more people were being abused within the City of York, rather it was an indication of greater awareness about how to raise a concern, and people understanding their roles and responsibilities in relation to that.

She noted that in addition to strong partnership working within the authority, CYSAB had this year strengthened its relationship with North Yorkshire, working collaboratively with colleagues there, which had been mutually beneficial, particularly as many partners had a shared footprint and collaboration saved a duplication of work in many areas.

With regard to the strategy for 2025-28 she stated there would remain a focus on prevention, awareness and engagement, and CYSAB would ensure the people of York have the confidence and awareness of how to raise concerns. She additionally emphasised continuing to learn, reflect and improve practice as key aspects of the strategy.

She stated that the key aspect of the strategy, which could be further supported by a neighbourhood approach, was a strengthening of multi-agency safeguarding responses to adults at risk of exploitation, rough sleeping and homelessness, as well as those experiencing self-neglect and hoarding. 

As an example of joined up working around hoarding she stressed that health providers should be made aware of the situation, and not be discharging people unchecked to homes they have made unsafe. Instead there should be a wraparound partnership approach to find a solution. The strategy going forward would build a multi-agency (with Police and Children’s) risk management protocol for hoarders. The board had already worked with the Assistant Director of Adults and Integration on a dashboard where concerns can be tracked, and they had engaged with the Director of Housing and Communities concerning rough sleeping and homelessness, who had established a task and finish group.

Board members asked about the contacts for people to raise a safeguarding concern and whether full details were provided in the presentation.

The Independent Chair confirmed that the presentation included links for professionals or members of the public to complete a safeguarding referral form online, and also the CYSAB phone number (these were listed in Section 11 of Annex A).

Resolved:  

      i.          To note the contents of the annual report 2024/25.

     ii.          To consider how they can contribute to the joint work of the Board and note strategic plans for 2025 - 2028 and how they can be supported in particular to the areas of focus below:

·       Prevention, Awareness and engagement.

·       Learning, reflection and practice improvement.

·       Strengthening multi-agency safeguarding responses to:

a. Adults at risk of exploitation.

b. Adults at risk of self-neglect and hoarding.

c. Adults at risk of rough sleeping and homelessness.

Reason:      To keep the Health and Wellbeing Board informed of the work of the CYSAB.