Agenda item

Sheffield Adult Safeguarding Partnership - 2016-17 Annual Report

Report of the Independent Chair of the Sheffield Adult Safeguarding Partnership

Minutes:

6.1

The Committee received a report of the Independent Chair of Sheffield Safeguarding Adults Board which set out the activities and performance of the Board for 2016/17. Present for the item was Simon Richards, (Head of Adult Safeguarding, Sheffield City Council), and Adam Butcher, Blake Williamson, Chris Sterry and Lee Harker from the Safeguarding Adults Customer Forum.

 

 

6.2

Simon Richards confirmed that although this report was the most recently published, owing to the cycle of reporting it was already out of date. He advised that the 2017/18 report would be published sometime after May 2018.

 

 

6.3

He reported that previous discussions with this Committee had recognised the need to move away from a regime of reporting on things after they’ve happened and into an evolving relationship where Members were able to comment on and feed into plans as they developed. As such, Mr Richards advised that the 2018/19 Annual Report would mark a major departure from usual reporting formats, and introduced colleagues from the Safeguarding Adults Customer Forum.

 

 

6.4

Adam Butcher advised Members that the Annual Report for 2018/2019 was being produced by the Customer Forum, members of which were Adult Safeguarding ‘experts by experience’ and had an extensive and unique insight of safeguarding adults in Sheffield.

 

 

6.5

Lee Harker, Blake Williamson and Chris Sterry outlined the Customer Forum’s approach; a series of interviews with a range of individuals involved with Safeguarding: commissioners, service deliverers and service users themselves. This approach would ensure that the 2018/2019 Annual Report would not only reflect the voice of these people but will have been produced by them. The Forum operated through a true co-production model, allowing participation to be balanced regardless of power structure in order to enable services to be reviewed, designed and commissioned by those who use and experience them.

 

 

6.6

The interviews used the same questions for everyone to ensure equality, with every voice given the same weight. Encouraging individuals to talk about their experiences of financial, sexual and organisational neglect or harassment first-hand allowed the individual’s voice to be heard, driving change in a meaningful way with real-world solutions, and at the same time empowering others to speak up about their own experiences and interact with the Forum.

 

 

6.7

Members made various comments and asked a number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:-

 

 

 

·         Previous reports had been produced through a largely officer-driven approach. This led to reports providing organisational perspectives rather than focussing on those who are at risk of abuse or neglect themselves.

 

 

 

·         Simon Richards advised that one of the main drivers for the move to co-production was the need for accountability, to ensure the voice of the customer was heard strongly and enabling an insightful and informed view of what happens. Adam Butcher added that when speaking with potentially traumatic experiences, it was important to hear individuals’ voices in addition to statistics.

 

 

 

·         Lee Harker advised that the report was shaped to be as accessible as possible, using plain English and Chris Sterry explained that past reports didn’t give the real feelings and impressions of the process which the videos were capturing.  Blake Williamson emphasised the importance of this, highlighting that all citizens could become ill or disabled and would want to engage with accessible, effective and friendly services.

 

 

 

·         With regard to capturing a variety of voices during interviews, Adam Butcher advised that this was a challenge being faced. The Forum had set up an Annual Report Working Group which was reflecting on the process as it developed, and were seeking to ensure a wide pool of customers was being represented. Chris Sterry advised that this was not an easy task; safeguarding by its nature required high levels of confidentiality, so the Forum relied on individuals being willing to speak about their experiences.

 

 

 

·         Simon Richards confirmed that the report sought to foster a greater understanding of customers’ experiences but could not practically include everything from a first-hand experience; a balance was needed between what the Customer Forum was trying to achieve with what was feasible. Representation and inclusion came from a variety of sources, for instance human trafficking could be included through Police Officer accounts.

 

 

 

·         Simon Richards undertook to report back with regards to possible reasons for figures to have changed in October 2016, but advised that there had been changes to how the ‘front door’ contact operated.

 

 

 

·         In response to questions from the Chair, Customer Forum members discussed some of the recent issues they had outlined, including health passports and mate crime, and outlined the priorities they wished would be addressed. These included ensuring the correct checks and balances are in place on an organisational level, making it easier to challenge processes and practices, and making disability equality training mandatory to ensure understanding preceded the point of need. They also included the need to increase the level of accountability of organisations, encouraging honesty about what, why, and how things are being done, and acknowledgement when things are done badly.

 

 

6.8

The Chair took the opportunity to thank Customer Forum members for their attendance and their work. It was agreed that future collaboration should take place through informal meetings and Councillors attending a Forum meeting, and that the minutes of today’s meeting be sent to the Customer Forum.

 

 

6.9

RESOLVED: That the Committee thanks those attending for their contribution to the meeting and notes the contents of the report and the responses to the questions.

 

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