1 14 th May 2014 Final DATED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

Transcription

1 DATED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL and SUFFOLK CONSTABULARY And NHS ENGLAND and IPSWICH AND EAST SUFFOLK CCG and WEST SUFFOLK CCG and WAVENEY AND GREAT YARMOUTH CCG and SUFFOLK PROBATION TRUST and SUFFOLK YOUTH OFFENDING SERVICE And DISTRICT AND BOROUGH COUNCIL HOUSING SERVICES 1 14 th May 2014 Final

2 CONTENTS CLAUSE 1. Background Key objectives for MASH Principles of collaboration governance Roles and responsibilities Escalation Intellectual property Term and termination Variation Charges and liabilities Status Status Governing law and jurisdiction... 9 ANNEX ANNEX A. THE MULTI-AGENCY SAFEGUARDING HUB ANNEX B. TERMS OF REFERENCE th May 2014 Final

3 THIS AGREEMENT is dated PARTIES The parties to this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are: (1) SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL whose principal office is situated at Endeavour House, Ipswich. (2) SUFFOLK CONSTABULARY whose principal office is situated at Police Headquarters, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich. (3) IPSWICH AND EAST SUFFOLK CCG whose principal office is situated at Rushbrook House, Bramford (4) WEST SUFFOLK CCG whose principal office is situated at St Andrews Castle, Bury St Edmunds (5) WAVENEY AND GREAT YARMOUTH CCG whose principal office is situated at Beccles House, Beccles (6) NHS England area Team at Victoria House, Fulbourn (7) SUFFOLK PROBATION TRUST whose principal office is situated at Peninsular House in Ipswich (8) YOUTH OFFENDING SERVICE whose principal office is situated at Endeavour House, Ipswich. (9) DISTRICT AND BOROUGH COUNCIL HOUSING SERVICES whose principal office is situated at West Suffolk house, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds. IP33 3YU th May 2014 Final

4 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 The Parties have agreed to work together to create a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub which is described in more detail in Annex A to this MoU (MASH). 1.2 The Parties wish to record the basis on which they will collaborate with each other on the MASH and this MoU sets out: (a) (b) (c) (d) the key objectives of the MASH; the principles of collaboration; the governance structures the parties will put in place; and the respective roles and responsibilities the Parties will have during the design, implementation and operation of MASH. 2. KEY OBJECTIVES FOR MASH 2.1 The parties shall undertake to achieve the key objectives set out in Annex A to this MoU (Key Objectives). 3. PRINCIPLES OF COLLABORATION The parties agree to adopt the following principles when carrying out their respective obligations for MASH (Principles): (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) collaborate and co-operate. Establish and adhere to the governance structure set out in this MoU to ensure that activities are delivered and actions taken as required; be accountable. Take on, manage and account to each other for performance of the respective roles and responsibilities set out in this MoU; be open. Communicate openly about major concerns, issues or opportunities relating to the MASH learn, develop and seek to achieve full potential. Share information, experience, materials and skills to learn from each other and develop effective working practices, work collaboratively to identify solutions, eliminate duplication of effort, mitigate risk and reduce cost; adopt a positive outlook. Behave in a positive, proactive manner; 4 14 th May 2014 Final

5 (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) adhere to statutory requirements and best practice. Comply with applicable laws and standards including EU procurement rules, data protection and freedom of information legislation. In particular the parties agree to comply with the requirements of the Information Sharing Agreement that is agreed between the parties. act in a timely manner. Recognise the time-critical nature of the MASH and respond accordingly to requests for support; manage stakeholders effectively; deploy appropriate resources. Ensure sufficient and appropriately qualified resources are available and authorised to fulfil the responsibilities set out in this MoU. In particular the parties agree to make any contribution payments that are agreed by the parties within three months of completion of this MoU; and act in good faith to support achievement of the Key Objectives and compliance with these Principles. 4. GOVERNANCE 4.1 Overview The governance structure defined below provides a structure for the development and delivery the MASH. 4.2 Guiding principles The following guiding principles are agreed. The governance arrangements will be to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) provide strategic oversight and direction; be based on clearly defined roles and responsibilities at organisation, group and, where necessary, individual level; align decision-making authority with the criticality of the decisions required; be aligned with the scope of the MASH and each project stage (and may therefore require changes over time); leverage existing organisational, group and user interfaces; provide coherent, timely and efficient decision-making and each party will use reasonable endeavours to procure the necessary approvals from their respective decision makers; and correspond with the key features of the MASH governance arrangements set out in this MoU th May 2014 Final

6 4.3 Strategic Group (a) (b) The Strategic Group provides overall strategic oversight and direction to the Project. This group will consist of the officers, or their nominated representatives listed as members in the terms of reference of the Strategic Group in Annex B The Strategic Group shall be managed in accordance with the Terms of Reference for the Strategic Group set out in Annex B to this MoU. 4.4 Operational Group (a) (b) The Operational Group will be responsible for the design & implementation of the MASH & project workstreams. It will provide assurance to the Strategic Group that the Key Objectives are being met and that the MASH project is performing within the boundaries set by the Strategic Group. The Operational Group consists of representatives from each of the parties. The Operational Group shall have responsibility for the creation and execution of the MASH plan and deliverables, and therefore it can draw technical, commercial and communications resources as appropriate into the Operational Group. The core Operational Group members are the members listed in the Terms of Reference for the Operational Group included in Annex B to this MoU. 4.5 Reporting Reporting shall be undertaken at three levels: (a) (b) (c) Operational Group: actions will be recorded for each Operational Group meeting. Any additional reporting requirement shall be at the discretion of the Operational Group. Strategic Group: Reporting shall be monthly, based on the minutes from the Operational Group highlighting: Progress this period; issues being managed; issues requiring help (that is, escalations to the Strategic Group) and progress planned next period and/or aligned with the frequency of the Strategic Group meetings. Organisational: the Strategic Group members shall be responsible for providing reports into their respective sponsoring organisation as required th May 2014 Final

7 5. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 5.1 Suffolk County Council (SCC) shall be the lead member with the principal responsibility for undertaking the lead role tasks, and will be authorised to determine how to undertake these tasks. The Lead must act in compliance with the Objectives and Principles at all times, and consult with the other relevant members in advance as appropriate. 5.2 The other parties will defer to SCC on a particular task, but will have the opportunity to review and provide input to the Lead before they take a final decision on any activity. All assurance must be provided in a timely manner. Any derogation raised must be limited to raising issues that relate to specific needs that have not been adequately addressed by the Lead and/or concerns regarding compliance with the Key Objectives and Principles. 6. ESCALATION 6.1 If either party has any issues, concerns or complaints about the MASH, or any matter in this MoU, that party shall notify SCC, the parties shall then seek to resolve the issue by a process of consultation. If the issue cannot be resolved within a reasonable period of time, the matter shall be escalated to the Strategic Group, which shall decide on the appropriate course of action to take. If either party receives any formal inquiry, complaint, claim or threat of action from a third party (including, but not limited to, claims made by a supplier or requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000) in relation to the MASH, the matter shall be promptly referred to the Strategic Group (or its nominated representatives). No action shall be taken in response to any such inquiry, complaint, claim or action, to the extent that such response would adversely affect the MASH, without the prior approval of the Strategic Group (or its nominated representatives). 7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 7.1 The parties intend that notwithstanding any secondment any intellectual property rights created in the course of the MASH shall vest in the party whose employee created them (or in the case of any intellectual property rights created jointly by employees of both parties in the party that is lead party noted in clause 5 above for the part of the MASH that the intellectual property right relates to). 7.2 Where any intellectual property right vests in either party in accordance with the intention set out in clause 7.1 above, that party shall grant an irrevocable 7 14 th May 2014 Final

8 licence to the other party to use that intellectual property for the purposes of the MASH project. 8. TERM AND TERMINATION 8.1 This MoU shall commence on the date of signature by the parties, and shall expire on completion of the MASH or on expiry of notice served by a party under clause A party may terminate this MoU by giving at least twelve months' notice in writing to the other party at any time. 8.3 The parties shall agree an exit strategy within three months of any notice that is served under clause 8.2, above which shall address the administration and financial arrangements to be implemented by the parties on termination of the MoU. 9. VARIATION This MoU, including the Annexes, may only be varied by written agreement of the Strategic Group. 10. CHARGES AND LIABILITIES 10.1 Except as otherwise provided, the parties shall each bear their own costs and expenses incurred in complying with their obligations under this MoU The parties agree to share the stationery costs arising in respect of the MASH between them in accordance with a Contributions Schedule; Children & Young People Services 55%, Police 25%, Health 10%, Adult & Community Services 10%. All other costs must have the approval of the Strategic Board Suffolk County Council will report on expenditure on a quarterly basis and invoice each agency annually. 11. STATUS 11.1 The parties shall remain liable for any losses or liabilities incurred due to their own or their employee's actions and neither party intends that the other party shall be liable for any loss it suffers as a result of this MoU th May 2014 Final

9 12. STATUS 12.1 This MoU is not intended to be legally binding, and no legal obligations or legal rights shall arise between the parties from this MoU. The parties enter into the MoU intending to honour all their obligations Nothing in this MoU is intended to, or shall be deemed to, establish any partnership or joint venture between the parties, constitute either party as the agent of the other party, nor authorise either of the parties to make or enter into any commitments for or on behalf of the other party. 13. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION This MoU shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and, without affecting the escalation procedure set out in clause 6, each party agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. Signed for and on behalf of Housing Signature:... Name:... Position:... Date: th May 2014 Final

10 Signed for and on behalf of Suffolk County Council Signature:... Name:... Position:... Date:... Signed for and on behalf of Suffolk Constabulary Signature:... Name:... Position:... Date:... Signed for and on behalf of Suffolk Health Signature:... Name:... Position:... Date:... Signed for and on behalf of Suffolk Probation Trust Signature:... Name:... Position:... Date:... Signed for and on behalf of Adult & Community Services Signature: Name:... Position:... Date: Signed for and on behalf of Youth Offending Service Signature: Name:... Position:... Date: th May 2014 Final

11 Annex A. The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub MASH overview 1. It is proposed that the MASH will: Act as the first point of contact for people requesting a social care service for children or raising new safeguarding concerns about children and adults. Collate information from different agencies. Use this information to decide if the threshold is met for social care intervention, and if so which team to pass the case to and, in broad terms, what action that team should take. Pass the non-sensitive information collated from the different agencies and recommended action plan to the agreed team/service. Provide advice and guidance for professionals with concerns about a child. 2. Furthermore: Operate during office hours, handing over to the Emergency Duty Service when the MASH is closed. Deal with all new contact calls, s, faxes and letters to Children s Social Care, irrespective of the nature of the enquiry. Contacts about cases which are already allocated to a Social Worker will be transferred to that Social Worker. Deal with all safeguarding concerns raised to Adult Social Care, but not with other non-safeguarding enquiries or requests for service. Be a decision-making body, not one that undertakes statutory assessments, or makes external visits as these will be undertaken by the team that the case is passed to. Decide whether the threshold for referral to Children s Social Care is met and if it is not, signpost to an appropriate service or agency. Only receive contacts via phone, , fax or letter and therefore not provide any facilities at the MASH location for face-to-face meetings with citizens or professionals who wish to raise safeguarding concerns. Process scope 3. It is proposed that the MASH will: Be responsible for the case from the time it is received in the MASH to when the case is handed over to a separate service or agency or closed. This means from the moment the professional or citizen calls to report a new safeguarding concern to the point when collated information about the case and recommended action is passed to the most appropriate service or agency th May 2014 Final

12 Geography 4. It is proposed that the MASH will: Operate from one location in Suffolk, rather than having several locality MASHs across the County. Be based at Landmark House in Ipswich and all staff working within the MASH will agree to abide by the operating agreement for Landmark House, including the joint Information Security Policy annexed at Schedule 2 of the agreement. All staff working at Landmark House will operate in line with the Landmark House Users Guide. Interfaces 5. It is proposed that the MASH will: Pass safeguarding referrals to teams such as: o Children s Social Care o Child in Need Teams o Children s Disability Service o Adults Social Care: o Adult protection team o Cluster Teams o Police o Safeguarding Unit 6. It is proposed that the MASH will: Pass enquiries that do not relate to safeguarding to teams such as: o Early Years o Integrated Service o Adults Social Care: o Cluster Teams o Other agencies as appropriate o Liaise appropriately with other agencies such as Health and the Probation Trust, sharing information where permitted. o Liaise appropriately with District Councils Staffing 7. It is proposed that the MASH will: Be run by a MASH Operational Manager. Consist of staff from the following services and agencies: Children s Social Care, Adults Social Care, Police, Health, Probation, Education and Business Support. Staff who work in the MASH will continue to be employed by their agency, and will maintain dual reporting lines th May 2014 Final

13 Include analytic capability, for example helping to identify trends, geographical hotspots and troubled families, using this analysis to help predict likely demand. Include staff providing administrative support to the MASH. Base the majority of the number of staff upon the volume of work entering the MASH, and some link roles to other services or agencies may be part time. Virtual links will exist to named individuals in other agencies such as:, Housing, Youth Offending Team and different health professionals (health visitors, midwives, GPs, These links will be agreed with agencies to ensure that they meet the operational needs of the MASH. The Key Objectives The purpose of this project is to establish a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) in Suffolk. The MASH will improve the way new safeguarding concerns about vulnerable children and adults are dealt with, sharing information between agencies to deliver a more co-ordinated, consistent and timely response. The MASH will involve representatives from the County Council, Police, Probation and Health working together in the same location, receiving new safeguarding concerns, sharing information from their respective sources and agreeing a course of action. Virtual links will exist to other services and agencies such as housing, mental health and youth offending service. The MASH will ensure that agencies have better information at the point of referral, improving decision-making and enabling support to be targeted appropriately. Better co-ordination between agencies will also mean an improved service for children, adults and families. The MASH will also provide advice and guidance for professionals with concerns about a child or adult. This will help improve the quality of information and reduce the number of inappropriate referrals. It is anticipated that the first go-live of the MASH will take place in June 2014, as part of a phased implementation th May 2014 Final

14 Annex B. Terms of Reference Legal context (Children Act 2004) Section 10 of the Children Act 2004 created a requirement for children s services to make suitable arrangements for co-operation between the relevant partners in order to improve the wellbeing of children in the authority s area. Statutory guidance for section 10 of the Act states good information sharing is key to successful collaborative working and arrangements under this section should ensure information is shared for strategic planning purposes and to support effective service delivery. It also states these arrangements should cover issues such as improving the understanding of the legal framework and developing better information sharing practice between and within organisations. Section 11 of the Act identifies those statutory bodies who should co operate. Section 13 of the Act stipulates that safeguarding boards must be created, with the objective under section 13 to: co-ordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority by which it is established; and ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for those purposes. Under Section 10, the creation of the MASH can be seen as a suitable arrangement for co-operation. Given the role of the safeguarding board under section 13(1) of the Act, it is clear that the board, whilst not having operational responsibility, has a role to play in ensuring the effectiveness of safeguarding practice. It is therefore recommended that, in order to discharge the obligations under Section 13, the relevant Local Safeguarding Children s Board considers the issues and recommendations of this document in relation to its duty to ensure co-operation and effectiveness in safeguarding children th May 2014 Final

15 Statutory responsibility The local authority has the general duty to safeguard children placed upon it by virtue of Section 17 of the Children Act It is therefore appropriate that the local authority should be seen as the lead agency for the development of joint partnership services within the MASH. Overall responsibility Section 18 of the Children Act 2004 requires local authorities with social care responsibilities to appoint a Director of Children s Services. The Director of Children s services (DCS) is appointed to exercise the functions of the local authority specified in section 18(2) of the act. Statutory guidance for this role outlines the responsibility of this post in relation to safeguarding activity. The guidance refers to the post being responsible for driving, leading and facilitating partnership working. Given the responsibility the role holds, it is recommended the DCS holds overall responsibility for the quality of children s safeguarding activity exercised within the MASH. However there is a need for all partners to retain ownership and responsibility for their own safeguarding activity and processes which may be present and delivered within the MASH environment. Strategic Group Functions The functions of the Strategic Group are: To deliver a high standard of service to Children and Vulnerable Adults, which is lawful. To oversee the development of the MASH, providing leadership, support and, where appropriate, resources to ensure the MASH is successful. To ensure that the MASH delivers the objectives collectively agreed by the Group and the desired outcomes for vulnerable children and adults. To ensure that information sharing policies and information governance arrangements for the MASH are agreed by all partners and are fully compliant with appropriate laws and guidance. Furthermore to ensure that such policies and arrangements are practical and that the MASH staff are trained appropriately in their application th May 2014 Final

16 To develop and agree a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out partner commitments and expectations for the development and future operation of the MASH. To report progress and maintain links with relevant boards, as well as ensuring effective communication with other stakeholders. To support a whole system approach to improving safeguarding and harm reduction through improved multi-agency co-ordination, better use of intelligence and more effective early intervention. To approve key project documents including the Project Initiation Document (PID). To ensure that decisions about the MASH are made in a timely manner. To discuss risks and issues, thus providing an opportunity to identify mitigating actions. To provide support, challenge and direction to the Operational Group. Membership The MASH Strategic Group membership will consist of: Chair Director for Children, Services, Suffolk County Council Director of Patient Safety & Clinical Quality/Nursing Officer designate Superintendent, Protecting Vulnerable People Directorate, Suffolk Constabulary Assistant Director Adult Safeguarding, Suffolk County Council Interim Corporate Director, Children & Young Peoples Services, Suffolk County Council Assistant Director for Learning & Improvement Suffolk County Council LSCB Manager, LSCB. Assistant Director commissioning & Partnerships, Suffolk County Council Chief Probation Officer, Norfolk/Suffolk Probation Trust. Strategic Manager, Children & Young People s Services Learning & Improvement West Suffolk Housing Manager(Transformation), West Suffolk(Forest heath & St Edmundsbury District councils Detective Inspector MASH, Suffolk Constabulary. Senior Strategic Communications Officer, Suffolk County Council. Head of Adult Safeguarding, Suffolk County Council Team Manager, Access Team, Suffolk County Council Suffolk Association of Independent Care Providers. Associate Director of Operations, Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust. Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children and Adults. Head of housing, West Suffolk (Forest Heath) and St Edmundsbury District Council th May 2014 Final

17 County Trading Standards Officer, Suffolk County Council ICT Strategic Client Partner, Suffolk County Council Project Manager Where the Group requires specialist knowledge, appropriate individuals will be approached as required. Other attendees may be asked to attend as and when required for one-off meetings or for a specific period of time. Meeting Frequency The Strategic Group will meet every month for the duration of the project. Review These Terms of Reference will be reviewed annually from the date of adoption or updated by Strategic Group agreement as required in the interim. Reporting arrangements The MASH Strategic Group will report to the Chief Executive of Suffolk County Council. Separately representatives from the Strategic Group are asked to keep their respective boards updated. In this way updates will be provided and links will be maintained with the following stakeholder boards: Suffolk Safeguarding Children Board Suffolk Children's Trust Executive Suffolk Safeguarding Adults Board Safer Suffolk Partnership Board Health & Well-being Board Police Command Team Relevant health boards Individual Boards of partner organisations as appropriate Principles underpinning the work of the MASH Strategic Group The Strategic Group will enable the MASH to identify and make safe, at the earliest opportunity, all vulnerable people in Suffolk through the sharing of information and intelligence between the safeguarding partners. The Strategic Group will enable the MASH to deliver three overarching outcomes: o Early identification and understanding of risk th May 2014 Final

18 o Victim identification and intervention o Harm identification and reduction The Strategic Group will give careful attention to safeguarding, challenging itself and constituent partners and asking three critical questions: o Are Suffolk s vulnerable children and adults safer as a result of the MASH? o How do we know they are safer? o What was the vulnerable child s or adult s reported experience? The Strategic Group is expected to take collective responsibility for three inter-linked strands: o Use of resources and evidence bases for outcome-based and best value strategic commissioning. o Use of a benchmark using performance information from previous arrangements and an agreed set of measures to evaluate improvement as a result of the MASH. o Promoting cultural change across the whole system at both strategic and operational levels to promote trust, collaboration and collective responsibility for vulnerable children and adults between different agencies. Commissioning best practice The Strategic Group will have regard to: assessments of need and other evidence bases and analytic data that is available to support prioritisation and value for money. It will be particularly important to understand the implications of Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and similar agency specific data the involvement of service users and carers call to account or raise with the appropriate organisation the performance of any agreements or commissioned activity, which fails to positively engage and support the objectives of safeguarding Seek to align and pool resources across the partnership to give best value and to generate efficiencies promote wide engagement of partners and stakeholders by ensuring effective communication where risks are taken a full risk assessment will be carried out and the Strategic Group will be fully informed of the risks. Operational Group Functions The functions of the Operational Group are: th May 2014 Final

19 To design and implement the MASH, providing operational expertise and resources to ensure the MASH is successful. To ensure that the MASH delivers the objectives collectively agreed by the Strategic Steering Group and the desired outcomes for vulnerable children and adults. To ensure that information sharing policies and information governance arrangements for the MASH are practical and can be adhered to. To report progress to the Project Manager and maintain links with the appropriate member of the Strategic Group. To help explain the MASH to staff and ensure there is effective communication with other stakeholders. To support a whole system approach to improving safeguarding and harm reduction through improved multi-agency co-ordination, better use of intelligence and more effective early intervention. To collectively agree project documents such as the MASH organisation design, process design, accommodation specification and implementation plan. To highlight risks, issues and concerns so that these can be addressed. Accountability The MASH Operational Group is accountable to the MASH Strategic Group. Membership 1 - The MASH Operational Group membership will consist of: Families Information service, Early Years & child care Team Senior Strategic Communications Officer, Suffolk County Council Suffolk Family Focus Project Manager, CSD Detective Inspector MASH, Suffolk Constabulary Designated Nurse for Safeguarding Children, Suffolk CCGs Team Manager, Access Team, Suffolk County Council Information & Data Controller, Suffolk County Council CYPS Safe guarding Manager Strategic Manager, Children & Young People s Services Learning & Improvement Service Manager, CYPS Integrated Services YOS, Suffolk County Council. Safeguarding Board, Suffolk county Council NSFT th May 2014 Final

20 Designated Doctor Safeguarding Children, West Suffolk CCG & Ipswich & East CCG Service Manager Safeguarding & LAC Suffolk County Council Safeguarding Manager, Suffolk county Council West Suffolk Housing Manager(Transformation), West Suffolk(Forest Heath & St Edmundsbury District councils Project Manager ICT Strategic Client Partner, Suffolk County Council Head of Adult Safeguarding, Suffolk County Council Information & Data controller, Suffolk Constabulary Where the Group requires specialist knowledge, appropriate individuals will be approached as required. Other attendees may be asked to attend as and when required for one-off meetings or for a specific period of time. Meeting Frequency The Operational Group will meet every 4 weeks. Review These Terms of Reference will be reviewed annually from the date of adoption or updated by agreement of the Group as required in the interim. Reporting arrangements The Operational Group will report to the Strategic Group th May 2014 Final