Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Earl Piggott Smith  01902 551251 email: earl.piggott-smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Introductions

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting]

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Val Evans, Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised it was being live streamed to the press and public. A recording of the meeting would be available for viewing on the Council’s website at a future date.

 

2.

Meeting procedures to be followed

[The Chair will explain how the meeting will proceed, how questions are to be asked and any matters of meeting etiquette.]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Evans explained the protocol to be followed during the meeting for asking questions and reminded everyone that microphones should be muted and cameras off, unless they have been invited to speak.

 

 

3.

Apologies

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from the following members of the panel:

 

·       Cllr Rupinderjit Kaur

·       Cllr Harman Banger

 

4.

Declarations of Interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest. 

5.

Minutes of previous meeting ( 20 July 2021) pdf icon PDF 489 KB

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The panel members voted and approved the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2021 as being a correct record.

 

6.

Safer Wolverhampton Partnership Board - update pdf icon PDF 424 KB

[Hannah Pawley, Community Safety Manager and Superintendent Simon Inglis, WMP, to present report]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair invited Hannah Pawley, Community Safety Manager, Lynsey Kelly, Head of Communities, and Superintendent Simon Inglis, West Midlands Police to present their report.

 

The Head of Communities explained that the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership (SWP) Board annual report was being presented to members of the scrutiny panel for information and comment on current activity. The Head of Communities outlined the key priorities of the SWP Board and explained that the presentation would focus particularly on the issue of domestic violence.

 

The Head of Communities added that the panel members were also being asked to comment specifically on current activity in this area. The Head of Communities invited Deborah Smith, Prevent and Cohesion Co-ordinator to give the panel an update on changes to the Channel Duty Guidance as requested by the panel before the presentation.

 

The Prevent and Cohesion Co-ordinator advised the panel that new Government guidance was published in November 2020 to members of Channel Panel and partners on the duty in the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to provide support for people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.

 

The guidance placed an emphasis on the statutory nature of the Channel Panel and gave the Chair and the Deputy Chair of SWP Board a higher level of security clearance. The guidance requires that an assurance statement is published to comply with the Act. The information will be included as part of the self-assessment, which is a baseline for the local authority practice. The new guidance focuses on achieving greater compliance in the way the Channel Panels operate across the region with the aim of being consistent in terms of practice and the training provided.

 

The Prevent and Cohesion Co-ordinator advised the panel that the assurance statement was signed by the Chief Executive, Tim Johnson, and sent to Homeland Security.

 

The panel thanked the Prevent and Cohesion Co-ordinator for the presentation and agreed to note the report.

 

The Community Safety Manager advised the panel that the rest of presentation would focus on the response of SWP Board to the issue of domestic abuse particularly throughout the pandemic. The Community Safety Manger gave a summary of recorded domestic abuse incidents between April 2017- March 2021 and invited Superintendent Simon Inglis to give further details.

 

Superintendent Inglis commented on the factors which have contributed to the increase in the number of reported domestic abuse incidents mainly against women, but also against men, for example, the national lockdown and loss of employment leading to families struggling financially.

 

Superintendent Inglis added that in response to the increase in number of incidents a decision was taken to analyse the integrity of the data to better understand the issue.  A review was also undertaken into the way crime incidents were recorded across the West Midlands region and it was concluded that offences of harassment and stalking had either been under reported, or under recorded within the overall figures for domestic abuse incidents.

 

Superintendent Inglis outlined a review of the current multi-agency governance arrangements in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Mandatory Vaccinations for Social Care Homes - update presentation pdf icon PDF 3 MB

[Becky Wilkinson, Deputy Director Adult Services, to present briefing]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair invited Becky Wilkinson, Deputy Director of Adult Services to present the report.

The Deputy Director gave an overview of the background to the updated report on the implementation of the mandatory vaccination policy. The policy covers all CQC registered care homes and include anyone employed or in a voluntary position entering a care home. The policy will become law on 11 November 2021 and be monitored by the CQC, as the regulatory body. All registered managers within a care setting will then have a legal duty to prevent any scheduled admission to anyone who is not vaccinated.

The Deputy Director outline the work done to prepare for the policy and advised that 46 people in Adult Social Care were not vaccinated and in post requiring a double vaccination from 11 November 2021 based on recent data. The Deputy Director gave an update on vaccination rates for the following centres Bradley Resource Centre, Duke Street Bungalows, and the Ernest Bold where a small number of the employees have not yet been vaccinated but was confident that the shifts can be covered in the future. The Deputy Director reassured the panel that risk assessments at the establishments have been done to confirm that the required level of service needed can be provided and gave details of specific action planned.

The Deputy Director advised the panel that 401 employees have been identified as a requiring vaccination but have refused the offer will be contacted again to encourage them to do so.

The Deputy Director advised that the Council is awaiting detailed guidance from either the NHS or LGA on the managing the process and how it relates to the vaccination requirements for ancillary staff and contractors who will also need to go into care homes, for example, for maintenance workers. The issue is being discussed with colleagues and a list of people who may be affected is being prepared. The Deputy Director advised the panel that contractors and Heads of Service have been made aware that all employees and ancillary workers that work with Adult Social Care must be fully vaccinated by 11 November 2021 and that no unvaccinated employees will be deployed in care homes after this date.

The Deputy Director advised the panel that in terms of commissioned care homes there are estimated to be over 130 staff not yet vaccinated, which equates to 95 per cent of all staff who have been vaccinated. The Deputy Director added that those people unvaccinated would not be able to meet the deadline of being double vaccinated by 11 November 2021 and work is being done on risk assessments about how the situation will be managed and how they can be redeployed to other service areas.

The Deputy Director advised the panel of the work being done with commissioned care homes which are at greatest risk, 18 out of 71 care homes providers have expressed concerns about future staffing levels due to employee recruitment and retention issues because of the mandatory vaccination  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Adults and Safer City Scrutiny Panel 2021- 2022 Draft Work Programme pdf icon PDF 615 KB

[Earl Piggott-Smith, Scrutiny Officer, to present report]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair invited Earl Piggott- Smith, Scrutiny Officer, to present the report. The Scrutiny Officer advised the panel of items scheduled for the work programme and invited members to comment on the plans.

 

The Scrutiny Officer suggested that a further progress report on the mandatory vaccination policy and the implementation be added to the work programme.

 

The panel discussed the issue of social care market and the specific challenges facing the sector be considered at a formal meeting rather than a briefing session, as originally planned.

 

The panel discussed the issue of violent crime and councillor safety and suggested that this should be added as a future item for the work programme. The panel wanted to review the safety measures that could be put in place to make sure Councillors were as safe as possible.

 

The Deputy Director advised that the panel the new CQC regulation for adult social care will be introduced in April 2022 and suggested this could be added to the work programme.

 

Resolved

 

1.     The panel agreed to note the report and agreed the suggested to the changes to the work programme.

2.     The panel work programme to be amended to change the briefing meeting on social care sector to a formal meeting.