The Police and Crime Commissioner does not only hold the Chief Constable to account for providing effective policing, he also looks after a wide range of issues relating to crime prevention, vicitim support and so forth.
Among the outside bodies currently supported by the Leicestershire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is the Safeguarding Adults Partnership (SAB). You can find their website on www.leicester.gov.uk/lsab.
With a population of more than 330,000 Leicester is the 10th largest city in the UK. The mean age of Leicester’s population is significantly lower at 34.8, than that of the East Midlands at 40 and England at 39.3 and it boasts the largest proportion of people aged 19 and under in the East Midlands. Information from the 2011 census reveals Leicester to be one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the UK with the population being made up of people from the following ethnic groups: White (50.5%), Asian, Asian British (37%), Black/African/Caribbean/Black British (6%), Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups (3.5%), Other Ethnic Groups (3%). The population of Leicester is made up of 49.4% males and 50.6% females.
The Care Act 2014 sets out statutory duties and responsibilities for safeguarding, including the requirement to undertake enquiries under section 42 of the Act to safeguard people.
During 2019/20 a total of 2049 concerns were raised, a total of 1468 individuals were involved in a concern during the year. During 2019/20, 462 individuals were involved in a section 42 safeguarding enquiry. At the conclusion of a section 42 enquiry, where a risk was identified during the enquiry, an outcome concerning the status of this risk is recorded. In 2019/20, 536 enquiries were concluded, and a risk was identified in 454. Of those with a risk identified, the risk to the individual was reduced in 59% of cases, and removed entirely for a further 34%, in 7% of cases the risk remained.
Making Safeguarding Personal is an important aim of the safeguarding adults process. Where possible the Partnership aim to achieve during the enquiry process the outcomes the individual involved has identified for themselves. During 2019/20 the Partnership recorded these outcomes for 286 of enquiries undertaken. Where these outcomes were identified, they were fully achieved in 57% of cases and achieved in part in a further 39%.
As a partnership, Leicester Safeguarding Adults Board outlined its strategic priorities in its three-year strategic plan published in 2017. Throughout this time, core priorities have been ensuring statutory compliance and enhancing everyday business. Developmental priorities have been strengthening user and carer engagement, raising awareness within our diverse communities, understanding how well the Partnership works together, and improving safeguarding transitions for young people.
CORE PRIORITY 1: Ensuring statutory compliance – Leicester safeguarding adults reviews 2019/20 Safeguarding Adults Boards have a statutory duty under section 44 of the Care Act 2014 to undertake safeguarding adults reviews (SARs) in cases which meet the criteria. The purpose of a review is to identify lessons to be learnt and to apply those lessons for the future. During 2019/20 Leicester Safeguarding Adults Board concluded one SAR and commissioned four.
CORE PRIORITY 2: Enhancing Everyday Business. The work of the Performance Sub Group, Joint Audit Group, Training Sub Group and Joint Policy and Procedures Sub Group. A local Safeguarding Adults Board must seek to achieve its objective is by ‘co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of what each of its members does’ (Care Act 2014). Leicester Safeguarding Adults Board works with Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Adults Board to maintain up to date interagency adult safeguarding policies and procedures across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. These policies and procedures are hosted on the Partnership’s dedicated policy and procedures website called the MAPP (Multi Agency Policies and Procedures). Throughout 2019/20 these policies and procedures continued to be reviewed and updated in line with learning from reviews, audits, and best practice.
COVID-19 & LOOKING TO 2020/21 At the start of 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic meant significant changes to ways of working throughout the partnership. Leicester SAB worked jointly with Leicestershire and Rutland SAB to regularly review the work of the Boards. A number of sub-group meetings were put ‘on hold’ for a short time, and ways of working were restructured to ensure that the essential and statutory work of the Boards continued. The partnership built relationships with the Local Resiliance Forum, who led on the immediate response to the pandemic.
Looking to 2020/21, our new strategic plan will be published in 2020, it will be joint with Leicestershire and Rutland SAB and will cover the period 2020-2025. The business plan for 2020/21 is currently being developed in light of COVID-19 and will be published alongside our strategic plan, on the ‘plans, reports, and strategies’ page of our web pages.
I have found it most interesting learning more about this organisation and all it does for the vulnerable in our society. There is far more information on their website and I would urge you to go and have a look for yourself. www.leicester.gov.uk/lsab.
