Invitees:

Susan Cooper - Corporate Director - Social Services and Wellbeing;

Cllr Phil White, Cabinet Member – Social Services and Early Help;

Jacqueline Davies, Head of Adult Social Care;

Laura Kinsey, Head of Children’s Social Care;

Martin Morgans, Head of Performance and Partnerships,

Elizabeth Walton James, Group Manager Safeguarding

Terri Warrilow, Adult Safeguarding and Quality Manager;

DCI Richie Weber, South Wales Police    

Louise Mann, Head of Safeguarding and Public Protection, Cwm Taf University Health Board  

Katie Davies, Area Services Manager Bridgend - Calan DVS.     

The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing firstly welcomed the representatives from South Wales Police, Cwm Taf University Health Board and Calan DVS and thanked them for their attendance and contribution at the meeting.  She then briefly presented the Safeguarding report to Committee, the purpose of which was to update Members with requested information on:

·       Safeguarding (Adults & Children);

·       Regional Safeguarding Boards;

·       Bridgend Corporate Safeguarding Policy;

·       Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE);

·       Deprivation of Liberty Standards (DOLS);

·       Domestic Abuse;

·       Human Trafficking & Anti-Slavery;

·       Children and Adult Practice Reviews.

The Committee were advised that the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 sets out the need to establish Regional Safeguarding Boards for children and adults and Bridgend Council had just completed the transition from Western Bay into Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board. 

The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing proceeded to describe the Membership and governance of the Safeguarding Board which included representation from Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil Councils.

The Chair made reference to the Board Membership, in that Bridgend County Borough Council seemed to be underrepresented in comparison to the other Councils, particularly with Merthyr as the delegates’ allocated seemed disproportionate to the Borough population.  The Corporate Director for Social Services and Wellbeing explained that the structure within the Annual Plan is draft and the Membership does cover a representative from Education but agreed to explore extending the invitation to include a legal officer.

A Member queried the figures provided within the Child Protection Register and questioned whether all recorded cases were new or children that have moved from age group to age group.   A Member followed this question by stating that the categories on the register should include children of parents who have alcohol or substance misuse.  The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing explained that the categories used on the register were set out by Welsh Government but the comments raised could be fed back as part of the ongoing review of the Performance Framework.

With reference to the year on year increase to DoLS referrals and the probability of the trend continuing due to rise in ageing population and the prevalence in dementia, the Committee raised concerns with financing and resourcing the process in the future.  The Adult Safeguarding and Quality Manager responded by providing details of Liberty Protection Safeguards which will be introduced in Spring 2020 which will hopefully be a simpler process and therefore more cost effective for the Council.  The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing concluded that since the introduction of DoLS it had been an area of monetary pressure and the Directorate are currently monitoring the process for more efficient ways of working.

On the subject of Adult Practice Reviews, the Committee queried what lessons had been learnt from the review referred to in the report and questioned the robust process now in place compared to previously, to ensure these incidents do not happen in the future.  The Corporate Director Social Care and Wellbeing added that practitioners continually ensure communications are resilient for effective interagency working.

Members noted from the report that a Welsh Government funded programme called Spectrum is offered to all primary and secondary age children but has only been delivered to 405 children.  Therefore the Committee requested to receive information as to why only a relatively low number of children have received the training and further request that the response include whether the reason for the poor uptake is that the school choose to provide a similar programme.

To conclude the meeting, the Chair sought assurance regarding the input Bridgend Council had into the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board Annual Plan 2019/20.  Both the Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing and the Head of Children’s Social Care confirmed that a workshop and several working groups were held with Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board to support a seamless transition from Western Bay and ensure that priorities for Bridgend were not lost in the process. 

Resolved:

The Committee note that Bridgend County Borough Council are under-represented on the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board and therefore recommended that Officers seek to assign similar representatives as the other Local Authorities for Bridgend, for example – Head of Legal.

When the next report on Safeguarding is presented to Committee, Members recommended that the table detailing the amount children on the Child Protection Register includes data of how long each child has been on register and if they have moved from one age group to the next age group.

Members note the ongoing review of Performance Framework around Social Services and recommend that the categories on the Child Protection Register should include children whose parents have alcohol or substance issues is reported back as part of the review.

Members highlighted the importance of training staff that undertake assessments to distinguish the difference between alcohol-related brain damage and dementia to ensure a concise diagnosis and improved prognosis.

Additional Information

• Members requested to receive more information on the reasons for the poor uptake of the Welsh Government funded ‘Spectrum Project’;

In relation to the Adult Practice Review referred to in the report, the Committee asked for details of the process that was in place prior to the review and what process is in place to date.