Agenda item

To receive the draft report from Bharat Ayer, Safeguarding Service Manager and Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults & Quality.

Cllr Alev Cazimoglu, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care, introduced the report and extended thanks to the panel for the invitation to attend.  It was noted that the report was draft and any feedback received would be valued.  There had been significant challenges but excellent work had taken place.

Bharat Ayer, Safeguarding Service Manager, highlighted the key messages including the focus to prevent and detect issues, as well as the Modern Slavery response.  There had been over 638 concerns recorded which was a year on year increase, however it was felt this was positive and demonstrated increased awareness of adult abuse.

In response, members commented as follows:

1.    Cllr Supple extended thanks for the informative report and asked what the plans were to prevent another case like the Josef case.  Bindi Nagra, Director of Health & Adult Social Care, advised that this panel was to review adult care and issues related to children would be discussed at the Children, Young People & Education Scrutiny Panel.  However, it was noted that Enfield benefits from sub committees shared between adult and child services which provides training, follow-ups, information sharing, missing children procedures and additional staff.  There were some concerns about those leaving care and the transition as they approach 18.  Work was taking place with the voluntary sector to improve opportunities for young people aged 18-25 in that position.  Feedback from this could be shared with the panel when available.

2.    Cllr Milne asked if support was back to being face to face and if there had been any impact of Covid.  Officers advised that most face to face services continued throughout the pandemic.

3.    There were some queries about the high number of concerns reported (3638) however Officers believed this was due to better awareness and reporting.  It was suggested additional context be added to this area in the report to provide better clarification ACTION for Bharat Ayer.

4.    It was questioned if there were any outcomes from the Joint Agency Response (JAR) meetings – Officers to explore and provide this at a later date ACTION for Bharat Ayer.

5.    In relation to the statement on page 10 of the agenda pack regarding environmental implications and the reduced need for travel, members were concerned this meant less visits and contact with service users.  Bharat confirmed this was not the case and the statement was related to strategic improvements such as online meetings.  Officers to make this clearer in the report ACTION for Bharat Ayer.

6.    Officers clarified that Enfield’s Safeguarding Children’s Arrangements were reviewed annually and the signing was a statutory requirement.

7.    Members requested additional information, such as trend data, be added to the “highlights of what we did in 2021-22” around modern slavery ACTION for Bharat Ayer. 

It was noted that information in the Modern Slavery Annual Report should not be duplicated.

It was requested that comparable trend data be added throughout the report ACTION for Bharat Ayer.

8.    The Chair requested training on modern slavery for members ACTION for Bindi Nagra/Governance Team.

Post meeting note: A member development session had been scheduled on this topic.

9.    There were some concerns around the youth crime figures which were increasing – identify the drivers behind this as it was a complex area ACTION for Bharat Ayer. 

The relocation of the Youth Justice Service would bring improvements with smaller teams working closer together.

10. Regarding the data on Hoarding, it was noted that a number of teams had been brought together to work together and provide support.  Enfield was the first borough in London to have a Hoarding Database.

11. Cllr Supple asked about PainCheck, which originated in Australia to identify issues without a person having to articulate the problem.  Officers were looking to widen the pilot of this within the borough.

12. Detailed records had been kept of the work that had taken place around infection control, including training and an annual report.  Members requested more mapping around this – Officers to add more detail ACTION for Bharat Ayer.

Bindi explained that CQC ratings did not directly link to infection control standards, however they work closely with the CQC and there was a dedicated post to focus on this.

Dudu Sher-Arami, Director of Public Health, added that there was a dedicated officer within public health that specifically links to adult social care.

13. Cllr Adeleke asked about pressure sores in relation to the different stages and links to the safeguarding team if necessary.  Officers responded by explaining the work being carried out with communities to raise awareness.  It was noted that the data related to adults, not children.

14. Community Do Not Attempt CPRs was to ensure consistency and usage of the same policy by all involved.

15. It was noted that the issues around the recruitment and retention of social workers was a national issue.

16. Cllr Dyson raised queries related to care leavers and officers confirmed this was looked at and any suspicions were reported to safeguarding.

17. Throughout this item, it was recognised that due to the level of detail in the report it may be more beneficial to split the report going forward into two separate reports; one for Adults and one for Children.

Members extended thanks to officers for the detailed report and for responding to the queries.