Meeting documents

To receive the report.

The Board heard a comprehensive presentation summarising the forward plan and annual report of the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board (SSAB).  Keith Perkin, the Independent Chair of the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board started by thanking Richard Compton, the previous Chair of the Board, for his dedicated stewardship. The SSAB’s role is to have an oversight of safeguarding arrangements within the County, not to deliver services or become involved in the day-to-day operations of individual organisations, including those of Somerset County Council.  The main objective of the SSAB is to seek assurance that local safeguarding arrangements and partner organisations act to help and protect people aged 18 and over who:

·         have needs for care and support; and

·         are experiencing, or at risk of, abuse, neglect or exploitation; and

·         are unable to protect themselves from the risk of, or experience of, abuse or neglect as a result of their care and support needs.

The Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board: -

·         Received and considered the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board’s 2020/21 Annual Plan and 2019/20 Annual Report,

·         Noted progress highlights during 2020/21 to date, and

·         Agreed to continue to promote adult safeguarding across the County Council and in the services that are commissioned.

The Board heard a comprehensive presentation summarising the forward plan and annual report of the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board (SSAB).  Keith Perkin, the Independent Chair of the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board started by thanking Richard Compton, the previous Chair of the Board, for his dedicated stewardship. The SSAB’s role is to have an oversight of safeguarding arrangements within the County, not to deliver services or become involved in the day-to-day operations of individual organisations, including those of Somerset County Council.  The main objective of the SSAB is to seek assurance that local safeguarding arrangements and partner organisations act to help and protect people aged 18 and over who:

·         have needs for care and support; and

·         are experiencing, or at risk of, abuse, neglect or exploitation; and

·         are unable to protect themselves from the risk of, or experience of, abuse or neglect as a result of their care and support needs.

The SSAB is required by The Care Act 2014 to produce and publish an Annual Plan and an Annual Report for each financial year. The SSAB developed a new three-year strategic plan for 2019-2022 in early 2019, incorporating comments from the Health and Wellbeing Board and Scrutiny for Policies, Adults and Health Committee, and this has been refreshed for 2020-21. This refresh was originally due to be considered by the Committee in the spring, but this did not happen due to the Coronavirus Public Health Crisis. As part of the refresh the plan has been amended to reflect the competing demands on partners during the ongoing crisis.

The Board has undertaken an audit challenge for smaller agencies. The focus has been in three areas:

·         self-neglect,

·         people in a position of trust, and

·         "what to do if it is not safeguarding" – poor care or safeguarding.

The Board has a primary drive of being a ‘can do’ organisation with a strong desire to listen and learn through monitoring and sharing both great practice and when things go wrong. The Board decided to publish a practice briefing on the referral of ‘Kevin’. This related to a referral that did not meet the threshold for a Safeguarding Adults Review to be commissioned, but which offered valuable learning that had been identified while considering the referral.

At the start of the first lockdown the Board took a decision to suspend all the sub-groups, but the executive continued to meet. That decision did not diminish the commitment to safeguarding arrangements. The annual report is testament to the achievements in what has been a very challenging year.

The Board discussed the report and welcomed the detail it contained. The Board asked if the Safeguarding Reviews were separate from Coroners Inquests and were informed that they were, but the terms of reference were often linked. The Board echoed thanks to the previous Independent Chair and also gave thanks to Stephen Miles for his tireless work on this area.

The Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board: -

·         Received and considered the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board’s 2020/21 Annual Plan and 2019/20 Annual Report,

·         Noted progress highlights during 2020/21 to date and

·         Agreed to continue to promote adult safeguarding across the County Council and in the services that are commissioned.