The Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Update, the Blackpool Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2024/25, the Adult Services CQC Recommendations, and the Scrutiny Workplan. Councillor Anita Cooper was appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the Municipal Year. The committee agreed to note the reports and continue to monitor the progress of various initiatives.

Adult Services CQC Recommendations

The committee received an update on the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) report findings published on 6 August 2025, which rated Blackpool Council as inadequate overall, with significant concerns in leadership, working with people, and safeguarding.

Key issues identified in the report included:

• The need for stronger, more visible leadership and oversight across services.
• Poor data quality and weak, inconsistent performance monitoring.
• Inconsistent safeguarding systems and processes.
• Risk-led rather than strengths-based practice.
• Delays in service provision impacting equity of experience.
• Lack of tailored care packages respecting individual choice and control.

The council is working with Partners for Care and Health (PCH) and has appointed an Improvement Advisor to develop a detailed improvement plan to be submitted to the Department for Health and Social Care. The plan will be overseen by the Adult Social Care Improvement Board, with an independent chair appointed by the council.

Over the next three months, the council aims to have:

• An independently chaired Improvement Board overseeing progress against an agreed plan.
• An interim Assistant Director for Transformation in place.
• Increased senior leadership visibility through regular frontline engagement.
• A baseline practice audit activity provider and plan secured in partnership with PHC.
• A high-level improvement plan developed with input from service users, carers, the workforce, and key stakeholders.
• A leadership development programme co-designed and in place.
• A clear strategic direction for Adult Social Care in Blackpool.

The committee was asked to note the local authority rating and the improvement activity identified, consider areas where more detailed information or assurance is required, consider whether there are any areas that would benefit from a more in-depth Scrutiny Review, and consider the frequency of reporting of progress against identified improvement actions.

Blackpool Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2024/25

The committee received the Blackpool Safeguarding Adults Board's (BSAB) annual report for the period of April 2024 to March 2025. The report is a statutory requirement under the Care Act 2014¹, and provides an overview of the BSAB's activities, progress, and challenges.

Key points from the report include:

• Blackpool faces complex safeguarding challenges due to its ageing population and high levels of deprivation.
• The BSAB has made strides in enhancing governance and strategic delivery, with improved coordination across delivery groups.
• Making Safeguarding Personal is more embedded in practice, with 78% of individuals supported to express the outcomes they wanted, and 94% of those outcomes either fully or partly achieved.
• Workforce development is flourishing, including the rollout of a layered Domestic Abuse training offer.
• Safeguarding activity has increased markedly, with a 26% rise in concerns raised.
• No Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) were commissioned during the reporting period, raising questions about the application of threshold criteria and consistency in decision-making.
• Data quality from some partners and consistency in recording require further attention.
• Learning from SARs and audits must be more routinely embedded in frontline practice to ensure impact.

The BSAB requested that the committee note the content of the report.

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Update

The committee received an update on the performance and activity of North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) in the Fylde area.

Key points from the report include:

• NWAS has one central hub ambulance station in Blackpool, serving the Fylde area.
• Resources in the Fylde area include 17 emergency ambulances, 2 rapid response vehicles, and 1 urgent care vehicle.
• Additional funding has been provided to support the growth in Urgent and Emergency Care activity for 2025/26, allowing for two more 12-hour emergency ambulances to be added to the sector.
• The trust undertook a clinical Leadership Review to streamline service delivery, improve clinical supervision, and support frontline clinicians.
• Patient Transport Service (PTS) activity in 2024/25 has continued to grow and is now sitting around 8% below the baseline compared to 10% below the baseline in 2023/24.
• There has been an increase in the number of 999 calls made from the Fylde area of 2.4%.
• There has been a small increase in the number of incidents attended of 0.77%.
• There has been an increase in the number of Category 1 (the most serious and life-threatening) incidents of 9.44%.
• There has been an improvement in Category 1 incidents, with NWAS reaching those most seriously ill patients one minute faster in 2025 than in 2024.
• Hospital handovers, the time taken for an ambulance crew to transfer a patient into the care of hospital staff, is one of the major challenges affecting the ambulance sector.

The NWAS requested that the committee note the report.

Scrutiny Workplan

The committee considered the Scrutiny Workplan and monitored the implementation of committee recommendations. The workplan is a flexible document that sets out the work that the committee will undertake over the course of the year. Committee members were invited to suggest topics for scrutiny.

The committee was asked to approve the Committee Workplan 2025/26, taking into account any suggestions for amendment or addition, and to monitor the implementation of the committee's recommendations/action.