Agenda item

The next item presented by the Leader was the interim Annual Report for Safeguarding. This report was an evaluation of 2022/23 performance for the Local Authority by the Head of Corporate Safeguarding.

The Leader confirmed that this was an interim report due to changes in Welsh Government guidance and the synchronisation of the reporting cycle. A full report would be presented to Cabinet early next year, which will be added to the Work Programme.

Safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults remains the highest priority for Newport City Council.

The Corporate Safeguarding Policy set out the Council’s duty and commitment to safeguard and promote the health, wellbeing and human rights of adults and children at risk.

This report therefore assesses the Council’s proactive actions and responses to safeguarding.

The report was presented to Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 2 June 2023. The Leader was pleased to report that there was a constructive and helpful discussion amongst the Committee members on the content of the report.

The report noted the challenges faced across the Council concerning safeguarding as pressures brought about by Covid and the restrictions of the pandemic are still having an impact.

The Safeguarding Hub for Children’s Services continued to see an increase in referrals during this period. This reflected the issues arising in schools, early years, and youth settings, and for the Council’s partner agencies. For the children and their families, an effective and robust safeguarding approach is vital and could be life changing. Referrals came mostly from the police and education/schools.

Despite the pressures, the outcome of the safeguarding self-assessment demonstrated a very high level of compliance with statutory requirements and a determination to continue to place the highest priority on safeguarding for all our citizens by all areas of the Council.

The Council continuously evaluates Corporate Safeguarding, ensuring that the governance and reporting structures were robust and fit for purpose under the premise that Safeguarding is everyone’s business in Newport City Council.

Comments of Cabinet Members:

§  Councillor Marshall complimented officers for compiling the report, which he felt served as a reminder of not only the Council’s responsibility in protecting the vulnerable members of society, but also the responsibility of everyone in the Council. Councillor Marshall also felt that it was reassuring to see the concrete arrangements in place, supporting the safeguarding hub and concerning the way that investigations were undertaken. Councillor Marshall also highlighted the mention of preventative and intervention measures which were effective and helped the Council to be proactive in addressing issues before they escalated.  Councillor Marshall also reflected on work that was being undertaken on a Gwent Regional level; with the report focusing on the collaboration of partnerships and a joint action plan for corporate safeguarding through regular meetings. Councillor Marshall remarked that this is a difficult area to work in and thanked staff involved.

§  Councillor Hughes reinforced Councillor Marshall’s words that safeguarding was everyone’s responsibility and thanked council staff for all their efforts. The Cabinet Member mentioned that Newport was still living in the shadow of covid as highlighted in the report. Councillor Hughes remarked that despite these challenges being faced, he was pleased that the safeguarding commitment remained robust.

§  The Leader added that it was an important report and the challenges of ensuring that all staff and volunteers were accessing and engaged with training was noted along with the need to demonstrate the firm commitment in the leadership of the authority.

Decision

Cabinet received the Annual Safeguarding (Interim) report by the Head of Corporate Safeguarding.