Agenda item

To approve the revised Safeguarding Policy.  

That the Safeguarding Policy be DEFFERED to the Executive Committee meeting on 4 September 2024 in order to incorporate the amendments and additions requested by Members.

10.1          The report of the Community Safety Team Leader, circulated at Pages No. 51-67, asked Members to adopt the revised Safeguarding Policy and to delegate authority to the Director: Communities in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to make minor and inconsequential amendments to the policy.

10.2          The Head of Service: Environmental Health advised that the Council had a legal obligation to consider the safeguarding needs of both children and vulnerable adults when discharging its functions and conducting its operations.  In 2020, the Council adopted a Safeguarding Policy which set out the Council’s arrangements to deliver its safeguarding obligations.  This report concerned a recent review of the policy to ensure that it was fit for purpose and reflected current professional best practice.  Paragraph 2 of the report outlined the key changes and updates which included: increased detail on the safeguarding training expectations for Members and Council employees, specifically all front-line staff being required to complete at least level 1 safeguarding training every two years, and Council staff working directly with children and vulnerable adults being required to undertake higher level face to face training, with Members having an in person briefing every four years; recognition that some Members and employees may require a higher level of training dependent on their role within the organisation; and updated contact details for key Council personnel and external agencies involved in the safeguarding referral process.

10.3          A Member drew attention to Page No. 57 of the report which set out who the Council’s Safeguarding Officers were but did not provide contact details, and similarly, Page No. 65, bullet point three which stated “if you are not sure what to do your first response should be to contact a Line Manager, Deputy Safeguarding Lead or Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)…”.  In addition, Page No. 65, bullet point eight referred to passing a completed form to the DSL but did not explain what the form was or where to get it from.  The last bullet point mentioned that the DSL must report the incident or seek advice from LCC Children Services and she asked whether that was Gloucestershire County Council.  In response, the Community Safety Team Leader explained that Officer names and contact details were not included in the policy as it could easily become out of date with changes to personnel; however, it was possible for the DSL information to be included on the Tewkesbury Borough Council Contact Details Sheet which was available on the Members’ section of the intranet and circulated to Members by email as and when it was updated.  Another Member pointed out that Page No. 57 included the Director: Communities as ‘Safeguarding Lead’ but should read ‘Designated Safeguarding Lead’.  The Chief Executive acknowledged that Page No. 57 also referred to the Associate Director: People, Performance and Culture as a Deputy Safeguarding Lead; however, Members would be aware there was currently nobody in that post, as such, there were only two Deputy Safeguarding Leads. 

10.4          In response to a query as to what was meant by the term ‘periodically’ with regard to the policy being reviewed, the Head of Service: Environmental Health advised the intention was to carry out a comprehensive review of the policy every three years; however, it would be updated to reflect any changes to personnel on an annual basis.  A Member indicated it was good practice to display posters in relevant parts of the Public Services Centre with the name and photograph of current DSLs so that staff knew who to approach.  The Director: Corporate Resources provided assurance that the screens on the first floor of the building displayed details of who staff should report any safeguarding concerns to.  A Member asked if that could be made available in the Members’ Lounge as well.

10.5          A Member drew attention to Page No. 59 of the report and noted that the first bullet point in the volunteers section stated ‘volunteers are recruited safely’ and asked what that meant.  She also noted that, with regard to training, Members would receive an additional face to face briefing every four years and she asked if all Members had received training following the elections in 2023.  The Head of Service: Environmental Health advised that safe recruitment of volunteers included ensuring the relevant Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and clearances were in place and confirmation was provided that Member safeguarding training had been held on 24 July 2023 as part of the Member Induction Programme.

10.6          Another Member expressed the view that, if people needed to access the Safeguarding Policy, this tended to be in order to react to a potential issue, therefore the policy needed to be easily understandable, or have a summary attached as an appendix for ease of reference.  He went on to indicate that the terms Safeguarding Officers and Designated Safeguarding Officers were used at different points in the report but he assumed these were the same people; furthermore, there were references to DSLs but there were also Deputy DSLs so this needed some clarification.  With regard to Page No. 65 of the report, the fourth bullet point mentioned contacting the Police on 999 and then informing a Designated Safeguarding Officer but it was unclear whether that was a Police Officer or a Council Officer.  On the same page under the ‘Safeguarding within specific circumstances involving the Council’ section, there was reference to LADO – he understood who that was but it might not be obvious to everyone reading the policy.  He suggested it may be beneficial to include a glossary of terms and acronyms at the end of the policy.  With regard to Page No. 58 of the report, it set out that the Monitoring Officer had responsibility for receiving safeguarding concerns and allegations made against elected Members and, whilst he agreed with what was written, he felt it would be appropriate for the Group Leader to be notified if a complaint was received about someone within their Group to ensure they were not asked to carry out a duty which may put children or vulnerable adults in danger.  As such, he asked for a form of wording to be included in the policy which would also cover the eventuality that a complaint was received about a Group Leader themselves.  A Member suggested that if a complaint was about the Group Leader, the Deputy Group Leader should be notified.

10.7          Given the amount of amendments that had been discussed, it was proposed that the item be deferred to the next meeting in order for Officers to make the necessary changes.  The proposer made clear this was not a reflection of the work that had been done but, due to the importance of the policy, it was necessary to ensure it was as robust as possible.  This proposal was duly seconded and it was