Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1.RESOLVED: that the minutes of the last meeting be agreed as a true record.

1.1. RESOLVED: that the minutes of the last meeting be agreed as a true record.

1.2. Following on from the Cost-of-Living agenda item at the last meeting, the Committee received a brief update on the Warm Welcomes scheme. The Warm Welcomes scheme launched on the 1^st of November 2022 and was part of Lewisham’s corporate response to the Cost-of-Living crisis. It was first launched across libraries in the borough but since then had expanded to more venues. Prior to Christmas 2022, the Council also launched a Small Grants scheme via Lewisham Local to support approximately 20 local warm space projects. It was now being finalised which 20 venues would get this funding. A Cost-of-living newsletter had also been developed and Lewisham Local had developed a map that showcased all the warm welcome hubs across the borough.

1.3. Since libraries were being used as warm welcome hubs, the Committee asked for an update to be circulated on libraries, specifically Lewisham Library and Sydenham Library. They also asked to receive information on the activities on offer in these libraries.

2.1.Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest as she had a close family member in receipt of a social care package from Lewisham Social Care who used a supported living setting. She also had members of her family who identified as autistic.

2.1.Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest as she had a close family member in receipt of a social care package from Lewisham Social Care who used a supported living setting. She also had members of her family who identified as autistic.

None.

3.1.There were none.

3.1.There were none.

RESOLVED:

·         That the report be noted.

Michael Preston-Shoot (Independent Chair, Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board) introduced the report and thanked Councillor Chris Best and Councillor Paul Bell for their work on Adult Safeguarding in the borough as the former and current Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care respectively. The following key points were noted:

4.1. The Mayor convened a meeting of the Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB), Community Safety Partnership and Safeguarding Children’s partnership at the end of 2022 where the 3 boards looked at cross-cutting themes and sketched out their plans for how they would deal with violence against women and girls, how they would support people on the autistic spectrum (children and adults) and how they would deal with transitional safeguarding.

4.2.    LSAB continued to develop their performance monitoring templates. Some of the RAG ratings that were red in the annual report, were moving in a positive direction with the development of the adults safeguarding pathway.

4.3.    It was a statutory requirement that the LSAB report on the completed Adults Safeguarding Reviews (ASR). The board had an ongoing focus on the implementation of the recommendations of these ASRs and revisited the impact those recommendations had.

Committee members were invited to ask questions. The following key points were noted:

4.4.    The Committee was pleased to see an upward trend in the reporting of safeguarding concerns which showcased an increased awareness regarding safeguarding.

4.5.    One of the key audit points in the audits of safeguarding cases was the tool called making safeguarding personal. It was important that an early conversation was had with people to find out what they wanted out of the investigation and then establish in the end whether that outcome was achieved. Some audit outputs around making safeguarding personal would be shared with the Committee.

4.6.    The report stated that 23% of all abuse was reported in residential care homes. In Lewisham, LSAB sought assurance regularly both from providers of care and commissioners of care. It made sure that staff in the care homes had the appropriate training, tools and values for supporting the residents and keeping them safe. It also made sure that in the care homes, there was appropriate oversight by managers and by regulatory bodies. Despite these assurances, there were cases when there was a clear shortfall, but the Board made sure there was continuous learning and improvement following each shortfall.

4.7.    The Independent Chair of LSAB had done a lot of work on hoarding and reported that Lewisham had revised its self-neglect policy and protocols.

4.8.    There was a need to promote the home fire safety visits by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) as there were a significant number of safeguarding reviews across London that showcased the shortcomings of services in referring individuals to the LFB for home fire safety visits.

4.9.    The LSAB would like to see an increase in reporting of abuse from family, friends and neighbours and would continue to find creative ways to embed this within the community. The Independent Chair of LSAB suggested that they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

RESOLVED:

·         That the report be noted.

Tom Brown (Executive Director for Community Services) introduced the report with contributions from Greg Cunning and Daniel Sperrin from Newton Europe. The following key points were noted:

5.1. Newton Europe completed the service-wide diagnostic in June 2021 which indicated potential improvement in resident outcomes and £8.6 million+ in annualised financial benefit.

5.2. This work by Newton Europe focused on three operational workstreams supported by enablers. The three workstreams were- decision making, enablement and AWLD (Adults with Learning Disabilities) progression and next steps. The enablers were digital delivery, change & culture and finance.

5.3. The savings as a result of this programme were being realised incrementally as new ways of working were embedded, staff were upskilled, and service changes were implemented.

5.4. Through the Empowering Lewisham programme there had been a positive impact on resident outcomes. 31 fewer people had gone into placement this year compared to the last year and there were 62% more enablement referrals from the hospitals. There had been a 50% improvement in service effectiveness in enabling residents. 60 residents had been identified for a move or progression with 630 residents in the pipeline.

5.5. It was highlighted that the dashboards were really informative and enabled managers to make decisions based on real-time data. It helped managers to be data-driven and human focused as well as outcome focused.

5.6. The budget deficit for Adult Social Care last year was £5 million and was now projected to be £1.9 million by the end of March 2023 or even less than that and this was a huge achievement for the team.

5.7. The work that Newton Europe did as a part of the workstream on AWLD progression and next steps, highlighted that there was a significant proportion of adults who could be supported to live more independently in the community. Although this wasn’t a quick change to make and required a long-term development plan. The reason that work on this workstream had moved slowly was because a dedicated team with a special skill-set was needed to carry-out this work and it took a long time to assemble that. Now that this team had been assembled, 70 to 100 moves were projected to happen over the next 12 months.

The Committee members were invited to ask questions. The following key points were noted:

5.8. The report stated that 630 AWLD were in the pipeline to be considered for a progression or move. The Committee was concerned that with the existing pressures on the housing stock, it would be difficult to find accommodation for these adults. The adult social care team had been working with colleagues in the housing team on this issue. Finding accommodation for these progressions/ moves would be a challenge but it was important that the demand was identified which would help when working with the provider market and ensuring there is enough capacity for these moves. The Committee was reassured that 630 adults would be assessed for this progression but that wasn’t the final number of adults being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

RESOLVED:

·         That the report be noted.

Kenneth Gregory (Director of Adults Integrated Commissioning) and Natalie Sutherland (Assistant Director of Adults Integrated Commissioning) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

6.1. All Local Authorities were required to develop an Autism Strategy after the national strategy came out in 2022. However, in Lewisham, the strategy development work began back in June 2021.

6.2. A public consultation was carried out in May 2022 where over 140 responses were received. However, it was recognised that there were not many responses from people under 18, so, the Young Mayor’s team organised a survey during October and November 2022, where 70 responses were received from this cohort.

6.3. The Council’s communication team was looking at the language throughout the strategy document and would also be designing the final version of the strategy. They would also facilitate the development of an easy read version of the strategy once it had been signed-off by the Mayor & Cabinet in February 2023.

6.4. The Autism Partnership Board would include members of the autistic community, parents & carer forums, the education sector including the SEND partnership, health and social care commissioners & providers, adult and children’s social care colleagues and partners from the voluntary sector. This Board would have its first meeting on the 23^rd of January 2023.

The Committee members were invited to ask questions. The following key points were noted:

6.5. The Committee wanted to ensure that appropriate employment support for autistic people was part of the strategy. Officers outlined that this would be covered in the employment section of the action plan and also agreed to explore the possibility of having colleagues from Department for Work & Pensions and local job centres on the Autism Partnership Board.

6.6. The Committee suggested that acknowledging the role of school leadership would strengthen the strategy further as cultural change in schools was brought about by the school leadership.

6.7. It was discussed that the membership of the Autism Partnership Board should be driven by the Board itself and that people with lived experiences should form the loudest voice on the Board.

6.8. Councillor Laura Cunningham offered to provide officers with the contact details of a professor from LSBU (London South Bank University) who had been involved in research on autism.

6.9. Lewisham had received funding to pilot an all-age autism wellbeing hub which would provide support around employment and education amongst other things. It was suggested that this hub could also support people without a formal diagnosis.

RESOLVED:

·         That the report be noted.

RESOLVED: That

·         the agenda item on ‘Extreme weather advice and support’ be considered as an information item which will be circulated to the Committee in advance of the next meeting;

·         the scope of the agenda item on ‘Leisure centres update’ be widened to include the Physical activity strategy and an update be included in the report on what mitigation has been offered to older people over 60 after the cuts that were made to over 60’s free gym and swim;

·         the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure be invited to the next meeting;

·         the agenda item on ‘Health & Wellbeing Board update’ to be merged with the agenda item on ‘Health Care & Wellbeing Charter- Initial Scoping report’;

·         the agenda for the next meeting on the 28^th of February 2023 be agreed after making the suggested changes;

·         any comments or questions regarding the Data dashboard be sent to the Scrutiny Manager.

The Committee considered the work programme. The following was noted:

7.1. A Committee member enquired whether the Healthwatch representative’s name could be added to the summons for the committee meeting. [It was confirmed after the meeting that only formal members of the Committee were included on the summons, but that the Healthwatch representative was invited to every meeting to contribute to the discussion.]

RESOLVED: That

·         the agenda item on ‘Extreme weather advice and support’ be considered as an information item which will be circulated to the Committee in advance of the next meeting;

·         the scope of the agenda item on ‘Leisure centres update’ be widened to include the Physical activity strategy and an update be included in the report on what mitigation has been offered to older people over 60 after the cuts that were made to over 60’s free gym and swim;

·         the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure be invited to the next meeting;

·         the agenda item on ‘Health & Wellbeing Board update’ to be merged with the agenda item on ‘Health Care & Wellbeing Charter- Initial Scoping report’;

·         the agenda for the next meeting on the 28^th of February 2023 be agreed after making the suggested changes;

·         any comments or questions regarding the Data dashboard be sent to the Scrutiny Manager.