1. Multi-agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedure
Consultation:

2. Why review these now?
There have been changes to practice, which mean the procedures are no longer up to date:
Case Conferences have already become more person-centred Outcome Meetings
The practice of ‘substantiating abuse’ has been ended
The procedures are very focused on Formal Enquiries which in practice are being used much less than previously.
The Care and Support Statutory Guidance in March 2017 removed the role of the Designated Adults Safeguarding Manager, but the role is still included within our current documents.
This means that our policy and procedure documents need to be updated. As we do this, there has been an opportunity to review our approach.

3. Aims of the review The review has had a number of aims:
Recognise the changes already made in October 2017
Be as person-centred as possible
Be as simple as possible
Involve citizen groups and their views in the review
Adopt a single pathway – that is more understandable to non-experts
Be outward facing – be understandable to members of the public

4. What we have done: Used learning from consultations in 2016
Held workshop with practitioners from different agencies in 2017
Held workshop with a multi-agency reference group 2017
Held workshops with eight citizen groups during 2017/18
Held two sessions with multi-agency practitioners groups in May 2018 to test out our ideas
With this learning we have completely re-written our policy and procedures around the issues that people told us were important.

5. Who do we mean by Citizen-led
For the first time we have sought to directly include citizens in the development of our policies and procedures. This is a start of our journey towards being citizen-led.
By citizen-led, we mean:
Learning from citizen experiences
Involving citizens in the development of procedures
Being focused on the experience of citizens
Measuring our success by citizen expectations
Citizen groups told us that whilst it is important to get the right support, it is also important to be supported in the right way.
As such we have sought citizen views on what good practice looks and feels like, and included this as citizen guidance throughout the policy and procedures.

6. What is different in the Policy?
We have tried to write the policy around what people said was most important to practice.
We asked practitioners what was important, and we wrote the policy around key themes such as working in partnership, proportionality and empowerment to help make sure that that these principles directly influence how we work.
These helpfully matched well with the Department of Health Safeguarding Principles

7. What is different in the Policy?
Continued.
We asked citizen groups what these themes meant to them in practice. They talked to us about how they thought support should be experienced, from their perspective.
We have tried to write the policy around what they said, using their words and description of good support.
The policy and procedures are referred to as the Leeds Approach to Safeguarding. This is what we mean by this, trying to work differently and more inclusively in how we develop safeguarding practice and procedures as we go forward.

8. What is different in the Procedure?
The procedures are written around citizen-led expectations of how people would want to be supported.
This includes an emphasis on having conversations with the person at risk (or their representative) to help ensure their involvement
It also includes citizen-led expectations at each stage, as guidance on the support that they want practitioners towards for them.
We have included guidance from citizen about the how they would want to be involved in risk assessments/managements plans and within safeguarding meetings.

9. What is different in the Procedure?
Much of the other changes are about:
Having a single pathway for safeguarding responses
The tone of the multi-agency policy and procedures
Outward looking procedures
Currently we have two types of responses, formal enquiries and risk management responses. This provides flexibility to respond, but sometimes people still associate safeguarding with a formal enquiry/investigation. It is considered helpful to just have safeguarding responses – which can take many forms and where all responses to abuse and neglect are always recognised as equally important.
The tone of the multi-agency policy and procedures.
We started changing the tone our procedures when we changed Case Conferences to Outcome Meetings last year. Outcome Meetings are not doing something completely different, just changing our approach to how we do it, where its emphasis is and what it feels like for those involved. The changes now are about following through with this approach.
See presentation notes

10. Outward looking procedures
Tell us your concern
We will advise if this is the best way to help
We will work with you to achieve the changes you want
We will check if we have addressed your concern
Often procedures are written just for professionals, which can mean they are difficult for members of the public to understand.
We have taken the view that multi-agency procedures should be understandable to the person at risk who needs support. We have reduced the policy/procedure by 19,000 words and tried to make better use of diagrams and images and tried to avoid technical / professional language.
Instead we have set out the procedures around experience we are seeking to achieve for the person at risk. The procedures now reflect - four outward looking stages or commitments to the person at risk.
This also helps with wider messages about promoting awareness of safeguarding and helping people to feel confident to seek help.
See presentation notes

11. Tell us your concern Replaces Raise a concern
What is new or different?
Concerns are reported in the same way as before
The guidance is very much simplified
We have included Leeds guidance on what is a safeguarding concern, within the document
There is an emphasis on listening to the person’s views and wishes.

12. We will advise if this is the best way to help
Replaces
Initial Enquiry
What is new or different?
This stage concerns whether these procedures are the right and best way to provide support –
The guidance is much simplified
There is still a process of finding out information to decide what, if any, action is needed. This is currently called an Initial Enquiry – it has been called Information Gathering within these procedures*
There is an emphasis on listening to the person’s views and wishes and desired outcomes
The procedures include guidance on conversations and citizen expectations
*Choice of term is a question within the consultation 

13. We will work with you to achieve the changes you want
Replaces
Formal Enquiry / Risk Management Response
What is new or different?
This concerns planning and taking actions to support people
Planning Meeting replaces Strategy Meeting
The procedure no longer describes two pathways for providing response i.e. Formal Enquiries and Risk Management Responses – there is just ‘safeguarding response’;
There is an emphasis on listening to the person’s views and wishes and desired outcomes
The procedures include guidance on conversations and citizen expectations
The guidance is intended to support proportional responses
There is revised guidance on the involvement of a person who may be the source of risk 

14. We will check if we have addressed your concern
Replaces
Case Conference
What is new or different?
The procedures have been brought into line with current practice – Outcome Meetings are held rather than Case Conferences
The guidance is much simplified
Guidance relating to the ‘substantiating of abuse’ has been removed
There is an emphasis on listening to the person’s views and wishes and desired outcomes
The procedures include guidance on conversations and citizen expectations
The procedures include citizen guidance on safeguarding meetings

15. Terminology What is new or different?
What is new or different?
We have introduced Planning Meetings (instead of Strategy Meetings) which we believe sets a better tone
We have also tried to avoid using the language of enquiries (initial enquiry/formal enquiry), as there was feedback that this did not always promote working together to resolve concerns (There is a specific consultation question in relation to this).
We have used the term ‘person at risk’ rather than ‘adult at risk’, which felt impersonal.
Safeguarding Coordinator is the only designated/titled role in the procedures, to avoid the technical approach of everyone taking on a nominated role within the procedures each time they take actions, which sometimes are just normal duties and responsibilities.

16. How to take part in the consultation:
The revised policy, procedure and templates are published on the LSAB website: consultations
Complete the consultation feedback form; send to:
by 10th September 2018
Thank you