Corporate Safeguarding Policy

Governance

At a corporate level, the responsibility for monitoring the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements across the Council is delegated to the Corporate Safeguarding Group.

All Heads of Service have a safeguarding role and there will be a safeguarding lead Head for each directorate who will attend the corporate safeguarding group. The Council will discharge its strategic statutory safeguarding responsibilities through Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) in each Council Directorate. In Carmarthenshire Council, all Heads of Service assume the DSL role. The DSLs will represent their Directorate at the Corporate Safeguarding Group and act as a conduit for the dissemination of safeguarding information to and from the Corporate Safeguarding Group.

The Corporate Safeguarding Group has reporting responsibilities to the Corporate Management Team, Health and Social Services Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet.

The Corporate Safeguarding Group (Safe Governance)

The Corporate Safeguarding Group provides ‘Safe Governance’ and, through an agreed work programme, developed and monitored by its associated corporate safeguarding delivery groups, and through close partnership working aims to ensure the council fulfils its statutory safeguarding duties. It will ensure all service areas have robust safeguarding arrangements in place which are regularly audited and monitored.

Observations of Cabinet, Scrutiny, Internal Audit and external regulators and auditors will steer and influence the priorities of the Corporate Safeguarding Group. Under the Corporate Safeguarding Group Terms of Reference, Designated Safeguarding Leads are ‘responsible for obtaining from and disseminating back into their service areas information and actions; they will be accountable for the completion of actions and tasks attributed to their service area’.

The Corporate Safeguarding Group will publish an Annual Report which will identify changing themes, learning and strategies implemented to address those changes, draw attention to the Council’s performance in complying with the Corporate Safeguarding Policy, and include an audit of each service areas’ safeguarding performance.’ The report will be submitted to the Health and Social Services Scrutiny Committee via the Corporate Management Team (CMT).

The Chair of the Corporate Safeguarding Group will notify the Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Board of any urgent matters arising or emerging themes which may have regional, multi-agency relevance.

Membership of the Corporate Safeguarding Group will consist of the following officers-

• Chair -Director of Communities (Statutory Director of Social Services)
• Lead Member for Corporate Safeguarding (Health and Social Services)
• Deputy Chief Executive - People Management and Performance
• Director of Education and Children’s Services
• Head of Children and Family Services
• Head of Adult Social Care
• Child Protection Service Manager (LADO)
• Adult Protection Senior Manager (LADO)
• Directorate Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL)
• Delivery Group Chair - Safe Partnerships
• Delivery Group Chair - Safe Workforce & workplace
• Delivery Group Chair - Safe Practice & Performance

Designated business support will be provided. Other Officers will be co-opted as required and agreed by the group.

Members of the Corporate Safeguarding Group will take an active role in ensuring it meets its objectives.

Each group member will champion safeguarding within their directorate and the wider organisation. They will be responsible for raising awareness of corporate safeguarding responsibilities and ensuring high levels of compliance.

Each group member will have urgent access to the Statutory Director of Social Services, Assistant Chief Executive or Lead Member for Corporate Safeguarding if required.

The Corporate Safeguarding Group is supported by three Delivery Groups each with their own key areas of focus. The delivery groups will meet on a quarterly basis and will regularly report to the Corporate Safeguarding Group. The groups will be chaired by a senior officer who will ensure robust oversight of the priority areas and associated action plans and performance measures. Some of the key areas of focus are listed below:

Safe Workplace/Workforce Delivery Group

• Safeguarding as everyone’s responsibility
• Safe recruitment
• Training needs analysis
• Training Delivery
• Workforce and Workplace policies
• DBS Policy/checks
• External Contracts/Volunteers
• Roles and responsibilities
• Awareness raising/communication
• Reporting abuse neglect

Safe Practice and Performance Delivery Group

• Safeguarding Policies
• Performance measures
• Audits/inspection
• Reviewing and Monitoring
• Embedding shared Learning
• Sharing information
• Improvement actions/Good practice
• Early intervention/Prevention
• Child/Adults voice/making safeguarding personal.
• Advocacy
• Service user involvement/feedback
• Communication

Safe Partnerships Delivery Group

• Links to MAWW Regional Safeguarding Board
• Links to Regional Partnership Board
• Links to VAWDASV Strategic Board
• Links with statutory partners
• Links with CSP/Contest Board
• Multi Agency Policies and Procedures
• Multi Agency Training
• Multi Agency Audits
• Multi Agency Performance and Reviews

Regional Safeguarding Boards

In addition, the Council has a role as Lead Partner and member of the Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Board. (CYSUR and CWMPAS). The Board is a multi-agency statutory partnership which works to protect and safeguard adults and children. They have responsibility to:

• Protect children who are experiencing, or are at risk of abuse, neglect or other kinds of harm and to prevent children from becoming at risk of abuse, neglect or other kinds of harm.
• Protect adults who, have care and support needs (whether the local authority is meeting any of those needs), and are experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect. To prevent those adults from becoming at risk of abuse or neglect.

The Board has a statutory duty to develop an Annual Plan on a regional basis and has an overall responsibility for challenging relevant agencies in relation to the measures that are in place to protect children and adults at risk.

CYSUR is the Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Children Board. It is an acronym for Child and Youth Safeguarding; Unifying the Region and is also the Welsh word for Reassurance. CYSUR is an amalgamation of the former Local Safeguarding Children Boards in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys.

CWMPAS is the Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Adults Board. It is an acronym for Collaborative Working and Maintaining Partnership in Adult Safeguarding and is also the Welsh word for Scope. CWMPAS also stretches across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys.

CYSUR and CWMPAS are collectively known as the Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Board.

Carmarthenshire Local Operational Group (LOG)

Reporting to the Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Board, the Local Operational Group (LOG) is the operational multi-agency body for safeguarding adults and children in Carmarthenshire.
Membership of the LOG consists of managers and practitioners in Social Services, Education, Higher and Further Education, Health, Police, Probation and the Voluntary Sector. Part of the LOG’s remit is to work collaboratively to ensure joint safeguarding arrangements operate effectively in Carmarthenshire.

Health and Social Services Scrutiny Committee

The role of the Scrutiny Committee is to review and scrutinise decisions and make reports or recommendations in connection with the discharge of any of the Council’s functions whether by the Cabinet or another part of the Council.

The scrutiny committee will provide constructive challenge to the Council about its safeguarding activity in an impartial and independent manner.

Download the Corporate Safeguarding Governance Structure