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Subgroup Terms of Reference (ToR)

Subgroup Terms of Reference (Approved February 2022)

Executive Group 

Purpose: To ensure that the core functions as agreed in the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Adult Safeguarding Partnership Board (SSASPB) Constitution are carried out within the agreed governance framework and operational processes and that Board and sub-group business plans are delivered. 

Remit: The Executive group is a formally constituted sub-group of the SSASPB.  It fulfils the following list of responsibilities and will:

  • agree a draft three-year business plan including key strategic priorities to be approved by the SSASPB and revised annually with any amendments brought to the Board

  • agree the draft annual report to be presented to SSASPB at its October meeting. Once endorsed, a copy of this document will be circulated to the two Health and Wellbeing Boards, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the leader of the councils and the chief executives or equivalent of all partner organisations as well as being published on its website

  • propose the agenda for the quarterly Board meetings and ensure actions arising from meetings are carried out

  • request and receive reports of the sub-groups

  • review and monitor performance in relation to an agreed dataset

  • review the work, membership and attendance of the sub-groups and Board meetings ensuring that their business plans are progressing and that the Board are informed of progress and failure to achieve results in any area.

  • delegate work as required and monitor completion in terms of quality and timescale

  • consider communication issues as they arise and if necessary be escalated to safeguarding leads for a one-off meeting to take forward specific proposals

  • carry out such additional functions as may from time to time be delegated by the SSASPB

Chair: The Chair of the Executive group will be the Vice Chair of the SSASPB. The Vice Chair will chair SSASP Board meetings in the absence of the Independent Chair. 

Membership and accountability: Membership of the Executive Group will be: 

  • Chair - Vice Chair of the SSASPB

  • Independent Chair

  • Chair of the Safeguarding Adult Review sub-group

  • Chair of the Audit and Assurance sub-group

  • Chair of the Prevention and Engagement sub-group

  • Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Groups

  • Chair and Vice Chair of the Practitioners Forum

  • an adult safeguarding lead for both Staffordshire County Council and Stoke- on-Trent City Council

  • Officers to the Board 

Meetings will be attended by the SSASP Board Manager and Administrator to the Board. 

Attendance: In the event that a member is unable to attend the Executive Group Meeting, the meeting will go ahead without them. However, wherever possible, their views will be forwarded in writing on matters requiring a decision and note must be taken of the quoracy requirements.

The Executive Group will meet monthly, except in the month of the Board meeting, and meetings will be for a morning or afternoon session. 

Quoracy: To be quorate the Executive sub-group must be attended by either the Independent Chair or Board Manager, the Chair or Vice Chair of the sub-group, one representative from the CCGs and one from each LA. The Police who only have one member at the Exec may either send the DCI with Safeguarding responsibility or provide written responses to any item requiring a decision. 

Attendance means either in person or virtually by Skype/telephone conference. 

Principles: The sub-group will retain an adult at risk focus to its work and have a regard for to racial diversity, language, culture, sexual identity, age and gender in its approach to all its performance monitoring activities.

Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) Subgroup

Purpose: To ensure that the Board undertakes safeguarding adult reviews (SARs) when appropriate, that agreed processes are followed and that lessons are learned. 

Remit: The Safeguarding Adults Review Sub-Group is a formally constituted arm of the SSASPB. It fulfils the following responsibilities and will:

  • Implement the agreed SAR protocol for conducting reviews.
  • Consider cases that do not meet the criteria for a formal review but from which lessons can be learned and recommend how this might be achieved.
  • Use the agreed selection process to appoint a SAR reviewer. Agree the type of review process to be utilised.  
  • Establish the lessons learned from the review and submit a draft action plan to the Board via the Executive and monitor its implementation.
  • Be responsible for the dissemination of lessons learnt across the partnership and ensuring that action plans are implemented.
  • Quality assure the final report before submitting to the Board for approval.
  • Liaise with the other Sub-Groups via the Executive to progress agreed delegated actions.
  • Consider published national SARs and ensure learning is promoted among local front line practitioners.
  • Contribute to the National SAR Repository hosted by the National SAB Chairs Network
  • Acknowledge the SCIE Quality Markers once the revised version has been produced
  • Review procedures against regional and national policy changes and amend if necessary.
  • Provide an update on current progress against workstreams to the Executive sub-group meetings which occur prior to Board meetings.
  • Contribute to the Annual Report by producing an overview of the SARs finalised in the relevant year (specifically the learning) and also what has been achieved during the reporting period.

Membership and Accountability: The sub-group will:

  • Be comprised of named representatives of key partner agencies of the Board who have the skills and knowledge of conducting case reviews.
  • Be extended to include other organisations by agreement of the Board.
  • Be chaired by a member or officer of the Board and the Sub-Group will elect a Vice Chair. The chair will be a member of the executive group and will attend Executive meetings.
  • Meet a minimum of six times a year.
  • Be accountable to the Executive via the Chair and Vice Chair.
  • Be attended by the Board Manager and the Administrator to the Board
  • recognise that SARs are not inquiries into how an incident happened or who is culpable. This is a matter for coroners and criminal courts respectively to determine
  • act in a manner that promotes the confidentiality of all of those involved in the process and which recognises the sensitivity of the information being shared
  • retain an adult at risk (as defined by the Care Act 2014) focus to its work and have a regard for racial diversity, language, culture, sexual identity, age and gender in its approach to all its activities

Principles: The Sub-Group will;

  • Recognise that SARs are not inquiries into how an incident happened or who is culpable. This is a matter for Coroners and criminal courts respectively to determine.
  • Act in a manner that promotes the confidentiality of all of those involved in the process and which recognises the sensitivity of the information being shared.
  • The sub-group will retain an adult at risk (as defined by the Care Act 2014) focus to its work and have a regard for racial diversity, language, culture, sexual identity, age and gender in its approach to all its activities.

Prevention and Engagement (P&E) Subgroup 

Purpose: The sub-group will identify with whom and how the SSASPB will engage and communicate. It will also identify how the work of the Board contributes to the prevention of adult abuse and neglect in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

Remit: The sub group is a formally constituted arm of the SSASPB. It fulfils the following list of responsibilities and will:

  • Produce a communication plan which will drive engagement activity
  • Produce a prevention strategy in 2021/22
  • Support the SSASPB Strategic Priorities by arranging learning events
  • Receive recommendations from other sub-groups to arrange events to improve practice or raise awareness of specific elements of adult safeguarding 
  • Submit a progress update to the Executive sub-group which meets before the quarterly Board meetings.
  •  Prepare a report for the relevant Annual Report which outlines an overview of the work undertaken by the sub-group during the reporting period.

Membership and Accountability: The sub group will;

  • Be comprised of named representatives of key partner agencies of the Board and those members having sufficient knowledge of interagency working and ways of measuring performance to enable them to contribute fully to the remit of the Sub-Group.
  • Be extended to other organisations as necessary to deliver the business plan.
  • Be chaired by a member or officer of the Board; there will also be a vice Chair.  The Chair will be a member of the Executive sub-group and will attend Executive sub-group meetings. The vice Chair will act for the Chair in their absence.
  • Meet a minimum of four times a year, this will increase as and when required.
  • Be accountable to the Executive sub-group which is attended by the Prevention and Engagement Chair and vice Chair.
  • Be attended by the Board Manager and the Administrator to the Board.

Principles: The sub-group will retain a focus on adults with needs for care and support as defined by the Care Act 2014 to its work and have a regard for to racial diversity, language, culture, sexual identity, age and gender in its approach to all its performance monitoring activities

Policies and Procedsures (P&P) Subgroup 

Purpose: Following enactment of the Care Act 2014 to produce inter-agency policies and procedures that reflect national and where appropriate regional policies and guidance and which promote the effective and consistent practice across organisations working with adults at risk within Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

Remit: The Sub-Group is a formally constituted arm of the SSASPB. It fulfills the following responsibilities and will:

  • Update existing policies and procedures responding to changes to the national framework and local requirements.
  • Produce new policies and procedures where required to reflect national policy.
  • Seek Board approval for policies and procedures prior to their implementation.
  • Ensure policies and procedures reflect the lessons learned from both local and national adult safeguarding reviews.
  • Promote the effective implementation of policies and procedures by developing and maintaining positive liaison with other SSASPB Sub-Groups through membership of the Executive sub-group.
  •  Implement SSASPB owned policies and procedures effectively with the purpose of improving outcomes for adults at risk.
  •  Maintain awareness of the impact of all adult safeguarding policies and procedures on other areas of work with adults at risk to ensure consistency across all services.

Membership and Accountability: The Sub-Group will:

  • Be comprised of named representatives of key partner agencies of the Board who have sufficient knowledge of the practice of adult safeguarding and interagency working. 
  • Be extended to other organisations by agreement of the Board.
  • Be Chaired by a member or officer of the Board and will elect a Vice Chair. The chair will be a member of the Executive Sub-Group and will attend executive meetings. The vice Chair will act in the Chair’s absence.
  • Keep in contact virtually when necessary.
  • Be accountable to the Executive via the Chair and vice chair.
  • Be attended by the Board Manager and the Administrator to the Board.

Principles: The sub-group will retain a focus on adults with needs for care and support as defined by the Care Act 2014 to its work and have a regard for to racial diversity, language, culture, sexual identity, age and gender in its approach to all its performance monitoring activities.