Issue - meetings

The Leader ENDORSED the

(a)               updated Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Policy;

(b)               proposal to bring together the responsibilities giving parity of status to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults under one officer group and one elected member as Champion. 

Decision taken and published on Thursday 16 September 2010.  Call-in expires at 5 pm on Thursday 23 September 2010.  Decision can be implemented from Friday 24 September 2010 if not called-in.

The Leader ENDORSED the

(a)                 updated Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Policy

(b)                 proposal to bring together the responsibilities giving parity of status to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults under one officer group and one elected member as Champion.

Anita Goddard, Housing Services Manager was in attendance for this item.

It was noted that whilst there was no statutory guidance to the provision of safeguarding vulnerable adults, there was an expectation that Councils would have in place appropriate policies and procedures to deal with reports of abuse.

In 2009 this Council updated its Safeguarding Children Policy and procedures to comply with the Children’s Act 2004 and an officer group was formed to monitor compliance and take forward the action plan.

It was recommended that combining both aspects relating to vulnerable adults and children would save officer time in terms of meetings and integration within existing mechanisms, whilst also being cost effective.

The Housing Services Manager confirmed that the existing standard reporting arrangements for children would also apply in respect of adults.

The Leader ENDORSED the

(a)                 updated Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Policy

(b)                 proposal to bring together the responsibilities giving parity of status to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults under one officer group and one elected member as Champion.

The Leader undertook to seek a Member Champion to undertake the required Member role. Action: Ray Manning

The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) training session for members scheduled for 24 July 2006 at 4 pm has been cancelled due to nil take-up.

In July 2004 Cabinet adopted a ‘Protection of vulnerable adults from abuse’ (POVA) policy.  At its March 2006 meeting Cabinet reviewed progress with its implementation.  The policy (available on the Council’s website) sets out how the Council will endeavour to ensure that its staff and members are aware of the warning signs of vulnerable adult abuse and know how to refer such matters to the County Council or police for further investigation and action.  To this end the Council is organising briefing sessions by the County Council's vulnerable adults coordinator on Monday 24 July at South Cambs Hall. The staff sessions will be held at 10 am and 2 pm and will be pitched at a basic level and will last a couple of hours.

A separate session will be held for elected members at 4 pm on Monday 24 July in the Council Chamber, but if members are unable to attend this session, they are invited to join the staff earlier in the day at 10 or 2.

There are 20 places per session. To reserve places please e-mail Janice Fisher.

You may recall that at its March meeting Cabinet reviewed progress with implementation of its Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) policy.

Those groups of staff (primarily in sheltered housing and homelessness) who have regular contact with vulnerable adults attend County Council specialist training, but the March report identified a significant number of our staff whose work takes them into vulnerable residents' homes and who should be aware of the issues around vulnerable adult abuse and where to refer concerns.  To this end the Council is organising briefing sessions by the County Council's vulnerable adults coordinator on Monday 24 July at South Cambs Hall.  The staff sessions will be held at 10 am and 2 pm and will be pitched at a basic level and will last a couple of hours.

A separate session will be held for elected members at 4 pm on Monday 24 July in the Council Chamber, but if members are unable to attend this session, they are invited to join the staff earlier in the day at 10 or 2.

There are 20 places per session.  To reserve places please e-mail Rhian Offord by Friday 7 July.

Full details of the briefing sessions will be circulated later this month.

The Council's POVA policy is accessible on the website. 

Cabinet RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL (Minute 5) that all District Councillors be Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checked, with advice to be sought whether this should be standard or enhanced checking.

Council

RESOLVED    that all District Councillors be Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked, with advice to be sought in each case whether this should be standard or enhanced checking.

Arising from the policy on the protection of vulnerable adults, Cabinet had recommended that all councillors be CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checked.  The Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee advised that the Committee had been told that checking could not be compulsory for councillors and could not be made so retrospectively for anyone already with the Council.  The opportunity for checks had been available voluntarily for two years.

A number of Members spoke in favour of CRB checks since councillors inevitably came into contact with vulnerable people.  It was noted that the checks were organisation specific so could not be transferred.  There was, consequently, a cost implication. 

Councillor Batchelor reported that at the County Council checking for those already in office was voluntary, but acceptance of checking was included as part of the declaration of acceptance of office and he assumed a similar system could be adopted.

The principle was accepted and the difference between standard and enhanced checks discussed.  It appeared that the need for enhanced checks depended on the extent of involvement with vulnerable people.  Council

RESOLVED    that all District Councillors be Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked, with advice to be sought in each case whether this should be standard or enhanced checking.

On the proposal of Councillor JD Batchelor, seconded by Councillor Mrs DP Roberts, Cabinet RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL that all District Councillors be Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checked, with advice to be sought whether this should be standard or enhanced checking.

Cabinet AGREED that

(a)               Further training for priority staff and briefings for other staff and elected Members be arranged, the resources for which be allocated from departmental and corporate training budgets respectively from 2006/07; and

(b)               CRB checks continue to be undertaken for all new priority staff and reviewed every three years; and

(c)               Consent is sought from all “priority” postholders for CRB checks to be undertaken in 2006/07 if they have not previously been checked under current procedures.

Cabinet NOTED the implementation progress of the Council’s Protection of Vulnerable Adults policy.

The Housing and Environmental Services Director’s report provided an update on the implementation of the Council’s Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) Policy and recommended further actions.  Cabinet was urged to lead by example and ask all District Councillors to be Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checked.  It was confirmed that all Cambridgeshire County Councillors were CRB checked.

Members requested that POVA Councillor training sessions be scheduled in the early evening, perhaps following a full Council meeting, to enable working Members to attend.

On the proposal of Councillor JD Batchelor, seconded by Councillor Mrs DP Roberts, Cabinet RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL that all District Councillors be Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checked, with advice to be sought whether this should be standard or enhanced checking.

Cabinet AGREED that

(a)               Further training for priority staff and briefings for other staff and elected Members be arranged, the resources for which be allocated from departmental and corporate training budgets respectively from 2006/07; and

(b)               CRB checks continue to be undertaken for all new priority staff and reviewed every three years; and

(c)               Consent is sought from all “priority” postholders for CRB checks to be undertaken in 2006/07 if they have not previously been checked under current procedures.

Cabinet NOTED the implementation progress of the Council’s Protection of Vulnerable Adults policy.

Cabinet AGREED

(a)               to approve the Protection of Children and Young People from Abuse Policy and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse Policy;

(b)               that there should be a progressive implementation of the policies, subject to information and training being provided across the Council, with a view to full implementation by autumn 2004.

New statutory obligations and related initiatives required all authorities to co-operate more fully to ensure that abuse situations were highlighted as early as possible.  The District Council’s role would be to be aware of possible abuse situations and to bring concerns to the attention of the lead authority, Cambridgeshire Social Services.  Two lead officers had been identified and were awaiting training.  Training for Members would be included as the programme was implemented.

Councillor MP Howell, Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee, recommended that all staff should be able to volunteer for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks, that any staff members visiting vulnerable people should be accompanied by a CRB-checked member of staff, and that both these staff members should be the same sex as the person they were visiting.

The list of situations where abuse of vulnerable adults may occur contained examples only and was not meant to be exhaustive.  The lead officers would bring to the training session Members’ questions about the Council’s lone worker policy and in which circumstances an adult could be identified as vulnerable.

Cabinet AGREED

(a)               to approve the Protection of Children and Young People from Abuse Policy and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse Policy;

(b)               that there should be a progressive implementation of the policies, subject to information and training being provided across the Council, with a view to full implementation by autumn 2004.