Agenda item

Bob Dyson, Independent Chair of the Barnsley Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children Board, attended the meeting to present the latest annual reports of the Boards for 2015/16.

In relation to the Safeguarding Adults Board, the meeting noted that its activity for the year had started with a development day, in particular to consider responses to the Care Act, and a streamlining of the governance structure.  In particular, efforts had been made to improve performance management and work had been undertaken jointly with the Police to streamline processes around safeguarding adults and domestic homicide reviews.  The particular focus had been on making safeguarding everyone’s business and a focused communications campaign had been undertaken in this area, with a challenge to each organisation to say what it was doing.  Although Deprivation of Liberty safeguards assessments were still continuing at high levels, significant progress was made in dealing with the workload. 

In relation to the Safeguarding Children’s Board, good progress continued to be made to keep children and young people safe.  Although there had been an increase in the number of children registered, this was a sign that more were now receiving help and support, with children’s social care more receptive to taking action and making lower level interventions to protect children.  Performance continued to improve, and the meeting noted in particular the success in achieving a 100% return from schools in submission of the annual safeguarding returns.  The meeting noted the excellent levels of engagement by partners in the work of the Board, and efforts to engage children and young people in its work.

The meeting went on to discuss the arrangements for joint working across South Yorkshire in relation to safeguarding and noted the joint meetings between Board chairs and the Police and Crime Commissioner.  Particularly in relation to children and young people, Directors of Children’s Services worked together at a national level to ensure coordination of activity and were swift to respond to any issues of concern.  It was noted that arrangements for vulnerable adults were harder to establish, unless those adults were in receipt of health and social care services.  However, good arrangements were in place where those people took a Berneslai Homes property or were placed in a care home.  The meeting discussed the need for better public awareness about the arrangements and to increase confidence in reporting any incidents, perhaps through community based effort, where there was cause for concern.

RESOLVED that the progress and achievements of the Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children Board during 2015/16, as outlined in their respective annual reports, together with the key actions to be pursued during 2016/17, be noted.