The Overview and Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to discuss the Barnsley Safeguarding Adults Board annual report, and the performance of Adult Social Care in Barnsley. They will also be asked to approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

Barnsley Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to discuss the Barnsley Safeguarding Adults Board's (BSAB) annual report for 2024-25. The BSAB brings together organisations including health services like GPs, housing, adult social care, education, Barnsley Council, and the police. The board aims to promote wellbeing and reduce the risk of harm for people with care and support needs.

The committee will be asked to review the BSAB Annual Report 2024-25, which is provided in a PowerPoint presentation. The presentation includes the BSAB's achievements in developing citizen-led approaches to safeguarding, delivering proportionate and timely responses, and learning and improving.

According to the cover report, the BSAB received 4,740 safeguarding concerns in 2024, a slight increase from the previous year. The report notes that joint triaging with South Yorkshire Police has reduced the number of referrals that do not require a safeguarding response.

The Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) summary evidences the BSAB's drive to learn from practice and embed changes into IT and other systems to maximise impact. An assurance event is held each year to test the reach of the learning across the BSAB partners.

Vanessa Rolfe, Independent Chair of the Barnsley Safeguarding Adults Board, has provided a written overview of the board's activities during 2024-25. She notes the strength of partnership working, the dedication of staff, and the shared ambition to innovate and improve safeguarding across Barnsley.

The BSAB's total cost for 2024-25 is £143,484, covering the Independent Chair, Board Manager, Multi-Agency Trainer, Safeguarding Adults Reviews, and business support. The council is the largest funder (71.5%), with the remainder of the funds coming from the Integrated Care Board (Barnsley Place) (16%) and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) (12.5%).

The BSAB partners have developed a strategic plan for 2025-28, outlining actions to achieve the following ambitions:

• Hold each other to account for the quality of safeguarding and services provided by all organisations working with adults in Barnsley.
• Ensure that adults who are homeless, rough sleeping or insecurely housed are effectively safeguarded.
• Work in partnership with the Barnsley Children's Partnership and Barnsley Safer Partnership to keep young people and adults safe and avoid duplication.
• Work with adults in Barnsley to improve the safeguarding response.

Adult Social Care Performance

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to discuss the performance of Adult Social Care (ASC) in Barnsley during 2024-25. The annual performance report aims to help ASC understand its strengths and areas for improvement.

The report outlines the performance of ASC's critical success factors (CSFs). For 2025/2026, the CSFs are directly aligned with the Council Plan and Priorities and are integrated into business planning documents.

In 2024/2025, Adult Social Care identified ten Critical Success Factors, which will continue to be monitored in 2025/2026. These CSFs are reported on a quarterly basis, with each report including quantitative data and supporting narrative. Targets are established for each CSF at the start of the reporting year, and performance is assessed using a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) rating system.

The report also notes that ASC is now subject to assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and that the CQC conducted an on-site visit in early September 2025. In preparation, ASC completed a self-assessment against the four key CQC themes:

• How local authorities work with people
• How local authorities provide support
• How local authorities ensure safety within the system
• Leadership

A summary of the strengths and areas for improvement for ASC in Barnsley against the four CQC themes is provided. The document also highlights the governance regarding performance monitoring and challenge in various forums.

Staff focus groups have highlighted increasing workloads and complexity. A review of the operating model is underway to understand how demand for ASC has changed and to identify any resource or skills gaps.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The committee will be asked to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 15 July 2025. The minutes include a discussion on health inequalities in Barnsley, where members heard that various initiatives were underway throughout the borough to address inequalities, within the health and care system, in communities, and across broader determinants of health. The committee also received a report informing them of the actions taken in response to the recommendations made by the Task and Finish Groups on Autism (All Age), Barnsley Carers (All Age) and the Council's Great Childhoods Ambition.