Agenda item

For debate and decision on the day, unless the Chairman decides otherwise.

Adult Safeguarding

Following the full Council meeting on 26 November 2014, the wording of the recommendation to Council regarding adult safeguarding had been revised and shared with the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  No objections had been raised to the revised wording which was as follows:

·        That Councillors are required to champion the wellbeing of their constituents and raise awareness of adult safeguarding.

·        That they play their part in working with communities to assist with the prevention of abuse to keep vulnerable adults safe from harm.

·        That they have a duty to report a concern should they become aware of individual cases of abuse through their work with constituents.

·        That the Council recognises the need to respect confidentiality and data protection issues; and asks the Cabinet to ensure there is a policy in place that enables local members to be informed about issues of serious concern within their divisions.

·        That training or briefing sessions are held with district colleagues at varied venues across the County on Safeguarding.

Members noted the wording of the recommendation had been the subject of detailed discussion and they believed that it should now be adopted without further amendment.

Other members, whilst supporting the intent of the recommendation, believed that it needed more work.  They suggested that a member group should be established to ensure that appropriate training and resources were in put in place.  A training pack should be developed so that members who joined the Council at a by-election or at the next election in 2017 were aware of their responsibilities. 

There was concern that the order of the recommendation was wrong and some changes were suggested to emphasis the importance of training.  A member called for the Cabinet to consult with all members before putting in place a policy to allow local members to be informed about issues of serious concern within their divisions.

RESOLVED that

a)    Councillors are required to champion the wellbeing of their constituents and raise awareness of adult safeguarding.

b)    They play their part in working with communities to assist with the prevention of abuse to keep vulnerable adults safe from harm.

c)    They have a duty to report a concern should they become aware of individual cases of abuse through their work with constituents.

d)    The Council recognises the need to respect confidentiality and data protection issues; and asks the Cabinet to ensure there is a policy in place that enables local members to be informed about issues of serious concern within their divisions.

e)    That training or briefing sessions are held with district colleagues at varied venues across the County on Safeguarding.

Gloucestershire Economic Growth Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Chairman of the committee, Cllr Colin Hay, reported that the committee had last met on 18 March 2015, the same day as the Economic Growth Joint Committee.  This had allowed the members of the scrutiny committee to look at the same issues and the same approach would be followed for future meetings.  A strong message had been sent to Cllr Mark Hawthorne, the Chairman of the Economic Growth Joint Committee, about the importance of pursuing action around devolution as otherwise Gloucestershire was in danger of falling behind other areas. 

Following the Council motion on community pubs, a paper had been presented at the scrutiny committee but members felt that a more detailed study was required.  It was hoped that a scrutiny task group could be established to undertake a broader study which covered the impact on local communities as well as  economic issues.  This would also provide an opportunity to involve district councillors.