Date:
Time:
Location: / 7th January 2016
10am
Tonbridge & MallingBorough Council
Attendees: / Amber Christou
Lesley Clay
Linda Hibbs
Richard Robinson
Adrian Hammond
Paul Whitfield
Ashley Stacey
Kas Hardy
Jill Pells
Marie Gerald
Satnam Kaur
Jill DePaolis
Virginia McClane
Kevin Hetherington
Andy Kefford
Jill Pells
Mark Janaway / Deputy Chair & Swale BC
JPPB
Tonbridge & Malling BC
Ashford BC
Shepway DC
Dover DC
Thanet DC
KCC
KHG
Dartford BC
Tonbridge & Malling BC
KCC
KCC
Tunbridge Wells BC
Sevenoaks DC
Kent Housing Group
Kent Safeguarding Children’s Board
Apologies: / Christy Holden
Brian Horton
John Littlemore
Charlie Beaumont
Deborah McLening
Eileen Martin
Liz Crockford
Robin Cahill
Sue Scamell
Lorna Ford
Gavin Missons
Jane Miller
Lora McCourt / KCC
KCC
MBC
KCC
CRI
AmicusHorizon
S DC
KCC
KCC
CCC
SDC
KCC
CCC
MINUTES
ACTION1 / Minutes and Matters Arising
None
2 / Cold Homes & Excess Winter Deaths
More people die in England and Wales than in other colder countries. Once temps drop under 12 degrees there is an increase in hospital admissions and winter deaths as well as falls. There is some association of excess winter deaths with cold homes, but this is old data.
LC – could add an action into the Dementia Housing Action Plan re people with dementia in cold homes.
LH – will there still be funding for winter warmth. KH – Depends on budgets, but there will be a small amount available for retrofit for districts. KFRS are printing out thermostats and do have ‘some packs of gloves, hats etc under their ‘Stay safe this winter’ campaign. Could be an opportunity for a district to do a pilot with them.
Canterbury CCG are doing a joint programme with CCC targeting approx 500 people over 65 (identified at risk by health) and they have a package round them to help keep them out of hospital.
Public Health bought some cold weather alarms, which plug in and they send a text message to family if temperature drops or rises in summer. Age UK will probably have some for a couple of years more. They are very low cost to run.
AC – may be something to alert CCGs to for districts.
AC – has public health looked at projections for the next few months and what is expected?
KH – will give feedback on this.
LH – Need to feed winter warmth data into the Health and Housing Cost calculator. / KH to circulate presentation
(attached)
LC to add action
KH to give contact details from KF&RS for an invite to PSHG (done)
KH to bring the alarms to next PSHG meeting
KH to feedback re weather projections
3 / Kent Safeguarding Children’s Board
This is an independent board, funded by partners. They have a scrutiny and challenge role to ensure that partners adhere to their statutory safeguarding roles. They also deal with case reviews around child deaths, which average around 100-110 per year. Many of these are neo natal deaths, but the board looks at trends, in order to raise campaigns e.g. safe sleeping. Also conduct serious case review where a child has been neglected or abused and take lessons from these reviews. MJ – the findings have to be published and the implications are significant, impact on recommendations and are shared nationally.
We can now share learning with JPPB and other housing groups to disseminate to front line workforce.
There is a safeguarding lead in each district and borough local authority. Responsibility for safeguarding sits with the commissioner and not the provider, so safeguarding should be written in to contracts etc.
At the moment focus is on Voice of The Child. It may be that agencies do listen to the child, but we need to know what happens as a result of this.
Local partnership working is now through Local Children’s Partnership Boards and each will have a safeguarding lead, which will report to the LCPB Safeguarding Group and then will be fed into business group and the KSCB. It’s a useful way of getting messages through from the front line to the board.
The local partnerships should now have a housing representative.
KH – probably the best person to contact will be the KCC community engagement team.
Safeguarding has a very good website and there is a process for escalation, e.g. assessments. Board is looking for feedback on how well the escalation works. There is a threshold document on the website – click on ‘Worried about a child’. First step is to discuss with the safeguarding lead within the district and boroughs. Training for safeguarding is free. (details on website).
John Littlemore as part of the case review board can refer cases in. Good practice cases can be referred in as well.
There has been a review of child exploitation cases and the key elements of the learning and the report will be published.There is also a massive staff awareness programme going on around CSE (Child sexual exploitation). There is a list of CSE champions being set up in districts and boroughs. Find out who this is, but if there isn’t one, and districts would like one within their own teams, contact Mark. The government’s prevent agenda re radicalisation is also going through the KSCB.
Housing need to feed back issues they have through the referral routes to the KSCB.
MG – domestic homicide review gives seminars re learning. Can they do that for serious case reviews? MJ – can do briefings for managers to feed back to their teams.
AC – previously discussed that SK will represent KHG and JPPB and be the link for housing.
AC – could put campaigns on websites such as Kent Homechoice. / MJ to send presentation to LC
(attached)
LC to forward details to MJ (done)
4 / Dementia Housing Action Plan Update
Examples:
Staff from social housing providers have attended Dementia Friends training and some are now Dementia Champions. Dementia awareness training delivered in some sheltered housing schemes has, in some instances, included the wider community.
Housing providers have also undertaken some sheltered scheme remodelling to incorporate dementia friendly design as fully as possible .For example, AmicusHorizon has made changes to their communal area decorations guidance to incorporate ‘design for dementia’ principles. This will be used for future internal decoration. Ashford Borough Council‘s scheme, Farrow Court, has now been completed and this is a full extra care/dementia friendly scheme and their Planning Service has developed a brief for developers highlighting good practice in designing older persons accommodation.
Registered providers arranged activities in Dementia Awareness Week. Examples are: Mrs Minteeda’s Marvellous Mind’ - an opportunity to experience day to day tasks through the eyes of someone, who lives with dementia, Musical Memories’ (Reminiscence), launch of the ‘White Oak Court Memory Quilt’ project and Dementia Friends sessions, (West Kent Housing Association) and the Jive Party (Town and Country Housing Group).
Staff attend safeguarding training and senior housing representatives are part of the Kent Adult Safeguarding Board.
LC would like to get more feedback as only a few RPs and LHAs have responded, and asked whether there is anything she can do to help to improve response rates.
LC also mentioned that the Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) are having another awards ceremony next year. The venue will be free (Oasis Academy Sheppey) and they have willing helpers but they will need to have money to cover the cost of food etc. LC asked whether JPPB would be happy to sponsor £1000 from funds. AC felt it would be useful to have information re Excess winter deaths in the marketplace, and there may be other items which would be of use. Unanimously agreed to sponsor.
JP advised that there will be Dementia Alliance training sessions held at the Kent Housing Group Seminar on 20th April at the Clive Emson Conference Centre at the Kent Event Centre.
5 / 16/17 Year old Homeless Protocol Update (paper already circulated)
Feedback from KHOG was that the protocol should be rolled out immediately. KCC have decided that they want to pilot in 2 areas because of difficulties getting crash pads.
SK – how does this fit in with the other consultation re supported housing,
JDP – consultation running alongside but commitment intention is to provide for this age group. New adolescent support teams (AST’s) being set up in every area and they will manage homeless YP.
PW -Crash pads not there, why wait, just roll out protocol.
AC- AST working really well and in Swale, so don’t want this to change now.
RR – Dartford model has been tried for 4 years and so why not just crack on and do it. Ashford’s concern is that there is a 3 month trial with a 3 month review and most of the year has gone. Let’s just do it as there is a will with everyone to make this work.
AC – in Swale, problem is move on. The protocol doesn’t address that. Relationships make this work.
MG – from experience, we rarely have to move people on, but do have YMCA in our area, although this may go under the recent proposals to changes to supported housing. Dartford rarely uses the crashpad for this age group any more, so if the protocol works well, it won’t be needed, so could continue to use temporary accommodation during pilot period.
SC – KCC have told some of the providers that they have to prioritise their clients, therefore young people are in B&B longer than they should be. Districts may not have the access they have now to supported housing under the new proposals.
It was discussed and agreed that, in line with the views previously expressed at the Kent Housing Options Group on 10th December, roll out of the protocol should not be restricted to two areas in Kent. It was felt that it is not necessary to delay the protocol because of a lack of crash pads. This is something which can be worked around initially, by continuing to use temporary accommodation. The protocol should be implemented as a pilot across the whole of Kent using the sandbox method, as quickly as possible.
The JPPB is unable to sign off the present proposal, but an alternative was proposed:
RR proposed that protocol is rolled out across the whole of Kent and not delayed or restricted to two areas.
PW seconded.
Unanimously agreed.
The JPPB also recommended that KCC should liaise with the district and borough local housing authorities with regard to the systems which can be jointly set up in each area.
Each local housing authority to make a recommendation to their CEs that the protocol is rolled out across Kent in order to stop the revolving door of homelessness, and the cost implications to the districts and boroughs from any further delay. The briefing should also alert the Chiefs to the implications of the loss of supported housing to this group due to other priorities.
The JPPB felt that this protocol has worked very successfully in Dartford, so has already proved its viability. It has been the relationships built between all agencies which have made it such a success and this should be built on across Kent and should underpin the principles of the protocol. There is a real willingness from the local housing authorities to work with KCC to avoid young people going into care/temporary accommodation wherever possible and to provide a consistent joined up solution to those young people presenting as homeless.
JDP – Care leavers’ protocol – needs to be more work internally re staff and working with partners. KCC is doing operational guidance to own staff and then move on to protocol.LC – further workshop to be held shortly.
6 / AOB
None
2016
7th April -MBC
7th July – T&MBC
6th October -MBC
/o improve response rates.anything she can do to help nd LHAsAmicusHorizon have 6 dementia champions in their housing snd the f
1