Report of the Executive Director Children’s Services, and the Statutory Safeguarding Business Partner is attached.

67.1    Members received the report of the Executive Director Children’s Services, and the Statutory Safeguarding Business Partner which set out details of the work of the Shropshire Safeguarding Partnership.

67.2    The Chair reminded Members that in previous years it had been a legal requirement that the Committee received the annual report of the Children’s Safeguarding Board  but that this had ended in 2018, and that the Board had become part of the Shropshire Safeguarding Partnership alongside the Keeping Adults Safe in Shropshire Board and the Community Safety Partnership.

67.3    The Statutory Safeguarding Business Manager advised Members that the Partnership gave an opportunity for cross cutting issues to be considered in a much more joined up way and that the structure of the Partnership was based on the strategic priorities that had been identified.

67.4    In response to a question the Statutory Safeguarding Business Partner advised Members that the abuse of vulnerable adults by others such as in a care setting was monitored though the Assurance and Performance Group.

67.5    In response to a question regarding funding for domestic abuse services the Statutory Safeguarding Business Partner agreed to provide figures outside of the meeting.

67.6    In response to a question regarding intelligence and data sharing the Statutory Safeguarding Business Partner advised that this had improved with the closer working that the Partnership allowed, and work was ongoing to get full datasets developed.

67.7    The Chair of the Partnership commented that Elected Members provided a link with their local community and could have a dialogue within the community that they represent.

67.8    In response to a question regarding how the Partnership had strengthened work around child exploitation the Partnership Chair explained that there was a dedicated multi agency group within the Partnership which covered all aspects of criminal exploitation and that there was a great deal of work done with Partners as well.

67.9    In relation to a question around raising public awareness of child neglect the Statutory Safeguarding Business Partner stated that the subject was a high priority in neglect group, and that a campaign was being planned around ensuring professionals recognise what neglect is, ensuring parents were aware of what neglectful behaviour is and ensuring that children are able to recognise what neglect is so that they can see when it is happening to themselves or their friends.  The Director of Children’s Services advised that the Council was raising awareness of the issue of neglect through the Step up Shropshire Campaign and was asking senior managers to look at the contribution their service could make to identifying cases of neglect.  She added that there would also be some work around reminding Elected Members of their role.

67.10  In response to a question as to whether the Partnership had contributed to more efficient working  the Statutory Safeguarding Business Partner confirmed that more use of virtual meetings through the Covid pandemic had meant more engagement with partners and that there had been a reduction in duplication as previously each part of the Partnership would have held meetings which were now covered by one meeting within the Partnership. 

67.11  In response to a question regarding how the Council’s Digital transformation programme had supported the work of the Partnership the Director of Children’s Services stated that the introduction of the Liquid Logic system had improved the management of and that feedback from social workers was that is much easier to use than the previous system.  She added that the wider investment within the digital transformation programme had really proved worthwhile given the new ways of working during the current pandemic.

67.12  The Chair thanked Officer for their presentation.

67.13   RESOLVED:

            That the People Overview Committee note and accept the content of the report