The Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet on 8 December 2025 to discuss the Adults Emergency Duty Team, receive updates from the chairs of the Policy Development Committees and review the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Plan 2025-2026. The meeting will also include a public question time.

Adults Emergency Duty Team (EDT) - Section 75 Agreement

The committee is scheduled to discuss a report regarding a Section 75 agreement¹ with North East London Foundation NHS Trust (NELFT) for the provision of the Adults Emergency Duty Team (EDT). The report is seeking retrospective agreement to continue to be part of the Section 75 Agreement for the provision of an emergency social care service outside of normal office hours. The previous agreement expired on 31 March 2025, and the new agreement commenced on 1 April 2025 and ends on 31 March 2030. The value of the contract for Redbridge is £1,115,079.75 over the five-year period.

The North-East London Adult Emergency Duty Team (EDT) provides an emergency social care service outside of normal office hours and is commissioned by the London Borough of Havering. It covers Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Waltham Forest. The service is designed to deal only with emergency situations that cannot wait until the next working day.

According to the report:

Members of the public and health and social care professionals can contact the team if a carer or a vulnerable adult is in urgent need or requires protection from harm. A vulnerable adult is a person of 18 years or over with a social care need. This can include people with mental health problems, physical or learning disabilities or older people. The service includes but is not restricted to the provision of Mental Health Act assessments by an approved mental health professional.

The report recommends that the cabinet approve entering into a new Section 75 Agreement for an Adults Emergency Duty Team between the four partner boroughs and NELFT for a period of 5 years. It also recommends delegating authority to the Executive Director of People to sign off the terms of the Section 75 Agreement, on behalf of the London Borough of Redbridge.

The report notes that local authorities have a statutory duty to provide emergency duty teams (EDTs) as part of their adult social care services. The report also considers the option of developing an in-house Emergency Duty Team, but this was rejected due to the difficult 'fit' between the service and local authority structures, the up-front investment required, the high costs, and the difficulty to recruit social workers willing to work out of hours.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Plan 2025-2026

The committee is scheduled to note and agree any changes to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Plan 2025-2026.