Issue - meetings

Report of Interim Executive Director Neighbourhood Services.

Purpose of report

To provide an overview of the progress made on safeguarding measures and activity across Cherwell District Council, highlighting areas that have progressed through training and briefings. Identifying the themes of safeguarding concerns from the internal reporting mechanism, our partnership working with Oxfordshire Safeguarding Board and District Councils.

Recommendations

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves:

1.1       To endorse the multiagency collaboration for safeguarding.

1.2       Consider actions for future safeguarding briefings for Members

Resolved

(1)          That having given due consideration, the Council’s Report on Safeguarding and the annual return be noted.

(2)          That the proposed actions for future Safeguarding briefings for Members be supported

The Committee considered a report from the Interim Executive Director Neighbourhood Services detailing the progress made on safeguarding measures and activity across Cherwell District Council.

In introducing the report, the Portfolio Holder for Healthy Communities advised members that this was an annual report that highlighted the Council’s dedication to providing rigorous and thorough training to staff that encouraged professional curiosity and aided members and officers to report situations that required further investigation.

Members then considered a presentation from the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead further detailing the Safeguarding Self-Assessment and changes to the Safeguarding Partnership. Members were advised that as a result of these changes, the Safeguarding Self-Assessment was put on hold for 2025, whilst in its place a Professional Curiosity Survey was undertaken, and feedback from the Learning From Reviews workshop documents were reviewed.

In response to a question regarding multi-organisational involvement in complex safeguarding cases and the potential for individuals to be overlooked by the system, the interim Executive Director Neighbourhood Services explained that Oxfordshire as a whole was confident in its processes for responding and learning from such cases. Members were advised that the Safeguarding Partnership focused on a family approach to ensure that cases were handled with consideration to the wider family unit and encompassed a multifaceted approach from organisations within the partnership.

In response to a question regarding the Oxfordshire Annual Safeguarding Report and the next steps to tackle the higher demand and growing complexity of issues as a result of a more rigorous reporting process, and targeted mental health support for those in need, the interim Executive Director Neighbourhood Services explained that, the Oxfordshire annual safeguarding report was a report of the safeguarding partnership to which the Council was a part of and provided input. Members were also advised that the Council was focused on a unilateral approach to safeguarding and that the Council worked closely with the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Health Improvement Board as well as the Integrated Care Boad to provide support to ensure the wellbeing of residents.

In response to a question regarding the link between children and adults social care and the associated safeguarding concerns that were linked to the transition between them at the age of 18, the interim Executive Director Neighbourhood Services explained that now that the Council was focused on a one partnership practice, this would lead to a more cohesive approach to the bridge between child and adult social care.

In response to a question regarding the increase in reports of domestic violence and what protocols were in place to handle this rise, the interim Executive Director Neighbourhood Services explained that the figures represented the total reports made by officers via the See it, Report it system, where they had concerns about possible domestic violence incidents. Not all reports made were subsequently reported to Thames Valley Police for a variety of reasons, and in some instances the cases reported via the SIRI system were not domestic violence.

It was suggested by the interim Executive Director  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36