Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

 

 

 

 

The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and described the fire evacuation procedure.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 20 October 2025, were submitted and approved as a correct record.

 

The Independent Chair of the TSAB, Adrian Green, will be in attendance to present the TSAB’s Annual Report 2024-2025. 

 

A copy of the TSAB Strategic Business Plan 2025-2028 is attached for information only.

 

The Panel received the Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board (TSAB) Annual Report, presented by the Independent Chair of the Board, which set out activity during 2024/25 to safeguard adults with care and support needs across Teesside.  TSAB worked on behalf of the four local authorities and statutory partners to prevent abuse, promote good practice and ensure effective multi-agency responses.

 

Training and Development

 

TSAB continued to deliver a comprehensive multi-agency training programme.  During the year:

 

·        7,582 learners from 631 organisations accessed safeguarding learning.

·        Over 23,000 e-learning courses were completed, with an 82% completion rate.

·        1,427 learners completed Safeguarding Adults level 1.

·        558 delegates attended virtual or face-to-face courses, and 180 workbooks were completed.

·        21 webinars were delivered, providing 84 hours of structured learning.

 

Feedback indicated increased practitioner confidence in involving adults, responding to complex cases and applying trauma-informed practice.

 

Priority 1: Joint Working

 

The TSAB strengthened multi-agency collaboration by:

 

·        Delivering a programme of multi-agency audits on exploitation, transitions and high-risk cases.

·        Reviewing the Teeswide Inter-Agency Safeguarding Adults Procedure.

·        Developing a new Adult Exploitation Strategy and establishing an implementation group.

·        Holding a multi-agency workshop on transitions for young people at risk.

·        Supporting local Domestic Abuse Strategy activity and wider community engagement.

·        Producing updated guidance on collaborative working and information sharing.

 

Priority 2: People

 

Workforce development remained a core focus.  The TSAB:

 

·        Introduced impact assessments to evaluate training effectiveness.

·        Embedded learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) and Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs).

·        Delivered public-facing campaigns during Carers Week, Elder Abuse Day and Transitional Safeguarding. 

·        Launched a new Hidden Harms learning resource.

·        Delivered GP engagement sessions and broadened voluntary-sector access to TSAB training.

 

Priority 3: Communication

 

The TSAB continued to improve the accessibility of safeguarding information for the public and practitioners.  Work included:

 

·        Conducting an annual survey that received 697 responses.

·        Commissioning ‘Inclusion North’ to produce new Easy Read safeguarding resources.

·        Making improvements to the TSAB website to enhance accessibility.

·        Delivering a series of public-facing campaigns throughout the Safeguarding Adults Week.

·        Expanding and strengthening the Safeguarding Champions network to reach seldom-heard groups.

 

Priority 4: Services

 

TSAB worked to ensure that adults at risk had access to appropriate services.  Activity included:

 

·        Redeveloping the Safe Place Scheme training video using insight from people with lived experience.

·        Updating the ‘Find Support in Your Area’ webpage.

·        Strengthening the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) for commissioned services.

·        Delivering awareness sessions for providers and community organisations.

·        Monitoring partner performance through the multi-agency data dashboard.

 

Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs)

 

Three SARs were published during 2024/25.  The SAR Sub-Group:

 

·        Considered eight notifications, with four progressing to SARs and four requiring no further action under the Care Act.

·        Monitored fourteen open cases.

·        Reviewed learning from local, regional and national SARs.

·        Oversaw implementation of actions through updated guidance, new training, audits and campaigns.

 

A national CPS-related recommendation remained incomplete due to an absence of a formal response at both national and local levels.

 

Partner Contribution

 

The Panel noted strong contributions from all statutory partners:

 

·        Hartlepool Borough Council continued to promote safeguarding practice, supported TSAB campaigns and received  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/35

The Health Improvement Specialist will provide additional evidence to support the Panel’s review of ‘Healthy Placemaking with a Focus on Childhood Obesity’.  The presentation will provide an overview of the Healthy Weight Declaration.

The Health Improvement Specialist for Public Health South Tees attended the Panel to present an overview of the Healthy Weight Declaration (HWD) and the wider public health context relating to obesity in Middlesbrough. 

 

Members were informed of current national policies around obesity prevention which included:

• Restrictions on unhealthy food advertising to children
• Soft drinks industry levy
• Calorie information on menus
• Restricted product placement in supermarkets
• School Food Standards
• International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes
• National Planning Policy Framework
• Restrictions on multibuy deals

 

Upcoming future policies included:

• The introduction of 9pm watershed for unhealthy food advertisements on tv
• Full ban of unhealthy food advertisements online

 

Healthy Weight Declaration

Members were reminded that Middlesbrough Council adopted the Healthy Weight Declaration (HWD) in February 2024.  The Declaration was a Council-wide commitment to improve health and well-being of people who live and work in Middlesbrough.  It was explained that a ‘health in all policies’ approach was advocated at leadership level to address wider determinants of health that impact food availability, food access and physical activity.  The Declaration’s 16 Key Commitments were provided to the Panel, for information.

 

The following key themes of the Healthy Weight Declaration, were discussed:

1. Strategic/System Leadership: Council’s role in shaping the environment and ensuring preventative approaches were embedded across local systems. 
2. Commercial Determinants of Health: Addressing private sector activity that affects people’s health directly or indirectly via business actions.
3. Organisationl Change and Cultural Shift: Embedding public health priorities across all departments.
4. Health-Promoting Environments: Creating an environment that enables the healthy choice to be the easy choice

 

Examples of the Healthy Weight Declaration in action were provided.  This included recent engagement with the Council’s Marketing and Communications Team which had supported the use of weight-inclusive messaging and strengthened the use of responsible imagery across Council channels, aligning with several of the Declaration’s sixteen key commitments.

 

Members also heard about the Council’s Eat Well Awards programme, which included the Eat Well Early Years Award and the Eat Well Schools Award, with a further Eat Well Business Award due to be launched in January 2026.

 

Discussion focussed on the Eat Well Schools Award, which was available to all schools including primary, secondary and special schools, across both maintained and academy settings.  Achieving the award demonstrated a whole-school approach to promoting healthy eating and positive food environments.

 

Members expressed interest in the Eat Well Schools Award and its potential to support healthier behaviours among children.  The Health Improvement Specialist welcomed Members’ interest and encouraged them to support promotion of the award through their existing links with schools within their wards.

 

The challenges of the Healthy Weight Declaration were presented, as follows;

• Obesity is a complex issue
• Results of action can take a long time to be reflected in health data
• Working in a systemic way takes a long time and requires capacity from a broad range of departments and wider organisations
• Conflicting priorities of departments and organisations can slow progress

 

Members queried how progress on the Healthy Weight Declaration was monitored, and it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/36

The Vice Chair provided an update on the recent Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting, held on 19 November 2025, which included an update from the Executive Member for Finance including the quarter one budget outturn report which was approved by Executive.  There was also an update given on the Continuous Improvement Plan and the Executive Forward Work Programme.

 

NOTED.

The next meeting of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel was confirmed for 12 January 2026, at 4:00pm.

 

NOTED.

 

Any other urgent items which in the opinion of the Chair, may be considered.

None.