Agenda Document Pack - Adult Care and Social Work Committee - 11/11/2025
North Lanarkshire Council · 11 November 2025
Back to Adult Care and Social Work Committee — 11 November 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Clerk Name: Karen Swan Clerk Telephone: 07919 730272 Clerk Email: committee@northlan.gov.uk 31 October 2025 Members of the Adult Care and Social Work Committee Chief Executive’s Office Rachel Blair Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the Adult Care and Social Work Committee is to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB on Tuesday, 11 November 2025 at 14:00 PM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Rachel Blair Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Members : M McCulloch, B Baudo, A Ballinger, C Barclay, M Boyd, G Brennan, B Burgess, W Goldie, J Jones, P Kelly, J Keltie, K Larson, J Leckie, A McCrory, B McCulloch, R McKendrick, C McManus, C Quigley, N Shevlin, L Stubbs, R Sullivan, J Toner, C Williams, N Wilson, G Woods. Page 1 of 138
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 Operational 2 Annual Report of the Chief Social Work Officer 2024/25 Submit report by the Chief Officer (Chief Social Work Officer - Children, Families, Justice and Integrated Practice) providing an overview of social work service delivery in North Lanarkshire for the period April 2024 to March 2025 5 - 80 3 Care Academy Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (Planning, Performance and Quality Assurance) (Copy to Follow) 4 Self-Evaluation Activity Within Adult Support and Protection Submit report by the Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) highlighting key findings and emerging themes from the most recent self-evaluation activity within Adult Support and Protection. 81 - 104 5 Self-Directed Support - Self-Evaluation Submit report by the Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) setting out the key findings and emerging themes from the recent self-evaluation, which assessed the extent to which the Self Directed Support Framework of Standards is being effectively implemented. 105 - 116 Performance 6 Adult Social Care Performance Report - Quarter 1 2025/26 Submit report by the Chief Officer (North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership) providing an update on the performance of key areas of activity within Adult Health and Social Care for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 (Quarter 1 2025/26). 117 - 124 Financial Page 3 of 138
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7 Revenue & Capital Budget Monitoring Report - Adult Social Care Period 6 - 01/04/2025 to 12/09/2025 Submit report by the Chief Officer (Planning, Performance and Quality Assurance) providing a summary of the revenue financial performance of the Health and Social Care Partnership (H&SCP) - North Lanarkshire (Adult Social Care & Housing) and the financial performance of the Social Work capital programme for the period 1 April to 12 September 2025. 125 - 138 Page 4 of 138
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AG Date 11/11/25 From Alison Gordon, Chief Officer (Chief Social Work Officer - Children, Families, Justice and Integrated Services - Education & Families) E-mail GordonAl@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 332001 Executive Summary In line with Scottish Government guidance the Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) is required to provide an annual report. This report provides an overview of social work service delivery in North Lanarkshire for the period April 2024 to March 2025 and covers the following areas: • Governance and accountability arrangements, including partnership working. • Service Quality and Performance, including service developments. • Resources • Workforce • Looking Forward - Future Priorities, Opportunities and Challenges The report, attached as Appendix 1, also reflects social work’s contribution to the Programme of Work underpinning the Plan for North Lanarkshire. Recommendations It is recommended that the Adult Care and Social Work Committee: (1) Approve the Annual Report of the Chief Social Work Officer 2024/25. (2) Acknowledge that approval of the report will also be sought through the Education and Families Committee. (3) Acknowledge that in line with requirements, the report will on approval be submitted also to the Scottish Government. Adult Care & Social Work Committee Annual Report of the Chief Social Work Officer 2024/25 Item 2 Page 5 of 138
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The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work All Programmes of Work 1. Background 1.1 The requirement that each local authority appoint a professionally qualified Chief Social Work Officer is contained in Section 45 of the Local government (Scotland) Act 1994. Statutory Guidance on the role of the Chief Social Work Officer was updated in 2016, to reflect the impact of Health and Social Care integration, extending the responsibilities of the role to provide advice to the Integration Joint Board (IJB). In addition to providing advice both to the Local Authority and IJB in relation to the discharge of statutory social work functions the role continues to carry key responsibilities for professional leadership, values, and standards both for directly provided and commissioned services. 1.2 Social Work Services in North Lanarkshire continue to play a lead role in supporting and safeguarding our communities. Adult Social Work and Social Care Services are delivered through Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire (HSCNL) whilst Children, Family and Justice Services are delivered through the Council’s Education and Families Service. 1.3 The CSWO role requires to be undertaken by one designated individual however delegation of responsibilities is permitted where required by the scale of business. In North Lanarkshire this means that the Chief Officer Adult Social Work Services, routinely exercises delegated responsibilities for decision-making and professional standards within adult services as well as providing support and cover with respect to the wider functions of the CSWO role. 1.4 The Annual Chief Social Work Report follows a nationally set template and is intended to provide a key overview and support scrutiny of social work service delivery and performance over the period. The Office of the Chief Social Work Advisor (OCSWA) also produces a national report each year which draws on key themes and messages from CSWO reports across Scotland. Due to scope of its coverage, we recognise the report is lengthy and covers some areas on which elected members will have previously received reports. Going forward we will seek to review its presentation both to make it easier to navigate and also to increase the visibility of data and impact information. 2. Report 2.1 Social Work in North Lanarkshire employs just over 3000 staff around 185 of whom are sessional. In collaboration with commissioned services and 3rd Sector partners support is provided to around 30,000 individuals and families at any one time. Social work also makes a key contribution to wider partnership and community activity. 2.2 As illustrated within the report partnership working is fundamental to social work at every level and a key aspect of the CSWO role involves developing and sustaining partnership working and relationships across a range of organisations and structures. In addition to the specific responsibilities of the CSWO to the Council and HSCNL, the Page 6 of 138
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CSWO holds a key leadership role within several local partnership arrangements. The delivery of social work is also supported by the ‘one plan’ ethos of North Lanarkshire and structures which facilitate strong links with other key services such as housing, employability and community learning and development and there are examples throughout this report of how this is helping us improve outcomes for those we support. 2.3 Income maximisation, tackling poverty and addressing financial wellbeing remain key to social work practice, recognising the link between poverty and the health inequalities which contribute to driving the need for services and in consideration also of the evidence that compulsory interventions are disproportionately experienced by those in poverty within our communities, We are therefore continuing to ensure this focus is embedded in social work practice and that it is embedded within our developing early support services through which we have also been exploring the use of small tailored direct payments to meet specific needs. We are conscious of the particular challenges for specific groups in our community such as carers/parent carers. During the coming year working with our colleagues in education, tackling poverty and commissioned community and voluntary sector services we will have the opportunity through our Fairer Future Partnership to test approaches which will support families of children with additional support needs with a focus on financial wellbeing. 2.4 Whilst social work services within both education and families and the health and social care services were able to deliver services within overall budgets during this period as reflected in Section 4 of this report, this to some extent masks a range of demand and financial pressures impacting on social work service with vacancies and recruitment challenges in some service areas also a key issue. Section 5 of this report provides further information on how we are managing workforce challenges and also reflects positive progress in some areas such as social worker retention. 2.5 A range of factors including the the legacy impacts of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, new legislative duties, the increased number of people who are impacted by complex needs and frailty and societal factors contributing to new safeguarding needs, have all meant that meeting demand within available resources continues to be challenging. As the report demonstrates however, the service has continued to innovate to ensure not only that statutory duties are delivered to a high standard but to improve outcomes and people’s experience of services. Throughout this period, we have continued to retain a strong balance of care across all care groups, supporting individuals to remain within their homes and communities wherever possible and empowering individuals and families to achieve positive outcomes. 2.6 In the context reflected above a key focus across all areas of social work continues to be the promotion of trauma-informed, relationship and strength-based practice with a particular focus on preventative approaches and enhancing early support. In adult services system change to support an enabling approach is being rolled with a view to eliminating waits for assessment and to fulfil the commitment of ‘right support, right time’ adopting a ‘Getting ir Right for Everyone’ approach. A public health approach within justice is promoting a holistic response to need whilst continuing to manage risk, whilst in children’s social work, work to embed ‘Signs of Safety and Healing’ alongside engagement with ‘empowering clusters’ model and expansion of early family support services are progressing well, with some very tentative indications that this may be impacting positively on volume of referrals. 2.7 Looking forward the report reflects on the opportunities to continue our whole system approach but is realistic also in setting out the significant challenges facing social work services, in the context of the significant financial challenges impacting on the public sector and communities. Whilst a step back from a maximalist approach to a National Page 7 of 138
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Care Service has removed the potential challenge of large-scale structural reorganisation, a number of new areas of legislation in addition to the Care Reform (Scotland) Act will create additional duties on the service and further work is also required to realise locally the aspirations of the Promise. As in other areas of the council significant service transformation, as referenced in the report, has begun and is essential but may be challenged by the very pressures it is setting out to manage, Similarly the establishment of a new National Social work Agency and Partnership will bring a positive focus to the role of social work however arrives with no specific commitments around investment in the profession. Nonetheless this report demonstrates the strong foundation of social work delivery in north Lanarkshire which remains supported by a committed and innovative workforce. 3. Measures of success 3.1 N/A – Annual Report to meet reporting requirement. A range of outcome measures, KPIs and specific service standards are applied across social work services. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 Annual Report of the Chief Social Work Officer 2024/25. Alison Gordon Chief Social Work Officer Page 8 of 138
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? No direct impact though the report provides key evidence that the effective delivery of social work services supports the Council in their delivery of Fairer Scotland Duty. As this is a retrospective report no EQIA is required If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? All recruitment is in line with our workforce plans and governed through the appropriate routes. 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? All statutory requirements are met through the role and function of the CSWO. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 9 of 138
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If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Whilst digital developments are a feature of service improvement and delivery within social work all relevant changes reflected within the report have already been considered through relevant governance processes. Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Key risks highlighted within the report are incorporated in relevant risk registers. The report itself is part of a wider framework of reporting which supports the scrutiny of social work services and therefore aids the Council in its duties with respect to the delivery of key statutory functions. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Where relevant issues are considered in planning for individual’s support, Page 10 of 138
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the service will also continue to consider the benefits of enhanced arrangement for groups of service users. An example of this is within our Restorative Justice Service which has both a veteran’s group and has also previously contributed through unpaid work to linked community projects. If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ No direct impact though the report provides key evidence that the effective delivery of social work services supports the Council duty. As this is a retrospective report no CRWIA is required Page 11 of 138
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1 Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2024-2025 Page 12 of 138
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2 . .......................................................................................................................................... 1 THE CHIEF SOCIAL WORK OFFICER FUNCTION ................................................................... 5 ANNUAL REPORT ...................................................................................................................... 5 1. GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ARRANGEMENTS ............................................ 7 1.1 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL AND NORTH LANARKSHIRE PARTNERSHIP ........ 7 1.2 HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE NORTH LANARKSHIRE.................................................... 9 1.3 SUPPORT, CARE, PRACTICE AND STAFF GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS ............. 9 1.3.1 SELF ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................. 10 1.4 PUBLIC PROTECTION ARRANGEMENTS ................................................................... 11 1.5 CARE HOME ASSURANCE ............................................................................................ 11 1.6 ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO USE SUPPORT SERVICES, THE COMMUNITY, AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR ......................................................................... 12 2. SERVICE DEVELOPMENT, QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE .......................................... 14 2.1 PERFORMANCE AND IMPACT MEASUREMENT......................................................... 14 2.2 SUPPORT TO UNPAID CARERS .................................................................................... 14 2.3 JUSTICE SOCIAL WORK SERVICES ............................................................................. 15 2.3.1 COMMUNITY PAYBACK ORDER-INCLUDING UNPAID WORK........................... 16 2.3.2 OTHER ACTIVITY ................................................................................................... 17 2.3.3 DIVERSION FROM PROSECUTION ....................................................................... 18 2.3.4 OFFENCE FOCUSED WORK ................................................................................ 18 2 3.5 WOMEN’S COMMUNITY JUSTICE SERVICE (WCJS) AND BAIL SUPERVISION 19 2.3.6 OTHER NEW DEVELOPMENTS ............................................................................. 20 2.3.7 ARREST REFERRAL ............................................................................................... 21 2.4 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SOCIAL WORK SERVICES ............................................... 22 2.4.1 THE BALANCE OF CARE ....................................................................................... 22 2.4.2 MOVING ON: SUPPORTING CARE EXPERIENCED YOUNG PEOPLE ................ 24 2.4.3 A LOVING HOME: ADOPTION, FOSTERING AND KINSHIPCARE ........................ 26 2.4.4 INTENSIVE FAMILY SUPPORT ............................................................................... 29 2.4.5 YOUNG PEOPLE IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW ................................................. 31 2.4.6 CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS (ASN) ................................... 33 2.5 ADULT SOCIAL WORK SERVICES ................................................................................. 33 2.6 EARLY AND PREVENTATIVE INTERVENTIONS – RIGHT SUPPORT, RIGHT TIME ...... 34 Page 13 of 138
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3 2.6.1 GETTING IT RIGHT FOR EVERYONE (GIRFE) ....................................................... 34 2.6.2 MAKING LIFE EASIER (MLE) ................................................................................. 36 2.6.3 ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TEAM ......................................................................... 36 2.6.4 COMMUNITY ALARMS AND ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL ........................................ 37 2.6.5 EQUIPMENT AND ADAPTATION SERVICE (EAS) ................................................. 38 2.6.6 SOCIAL WORK TRANSITION TEAM ..................................................................... 39 2.6.7 LOCALITY SUPPORT SERVICES (LSS) ................................................................. 39 2.6.8 INTEGRATED DAY SERVICES (IDS) FOR OLDER ADULTS: OVERVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................. 40 2.6.9 HOME ASSESSMENT TEAM (HAT) ....................................................................... 40 2.6.10 HOME SUPPORT SERVICE – LIVING WELL AT HOME ...................................... 41 2.6.11 TRANSFORMATIONAL SELF-DIRECTED SUPPORT (SDS) AGENDA AND INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS .................................................................................................. 42 2.6.12 COMMUNITY LIVING CHANGE FUND/COMING HOME .................................. 43 2.7 DIGITAL SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION ....................................................................... 44 3. STATUTORY INTERVENTIONS ......................................................................................... 45 3.1 MENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS SERVICE AND ADULTS WITH INCAPACITY ACT (SCOTLAND) 2000 ............................................................................................................. 45 3.2 MENTAL HEALTH (CARE AND TREATMENT) ACT 2003 AND MENTAL HEALTH (SCOTLAND ACT 2015) ...................................................................................................... 47 3.3 DEVELOPMENT OF MHO SERVICE TO MEET NEEDS ................................................. 48 3.4 APPROPRIATE ADULT SERVICES .................................................................................. 49 3.5 PUBLIC PROTECTION .................................................................................................. 50 3.5.1 ADULT SUPPORT AND PROTECTION INVESTIGATIONS/CASE CONFERENCES AND STATUTORY ORDERS/FUNCTIONS ........................................................................ 50 3.5.2 MAPPA (MULTI AGENCY PUBLIC PROTECTION ARRANGEMENTS) .................. 52 3.5.3 CHILD PROTECTION INCLUDING CONTEXTUAL SAFEGUARDING ................. 53 3.5.4 GENDER BASED VIOLENCE ................................................................................. 56 4. RESOURCES .................................................................................................................... 57 4.1 FINANCIAL MODELLING FOR SERVICE DELIVERY ............................................... 59 5. WORKFORCE .................................................................................................................. 59 5.1 WORKFORCE PLANNING ........................................................................................... 59 5.2 SOCIAL WORK RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ...................................................... 60 Page 14 of 138
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4 5.3 SOCIAL CARE ............................................................................................................... 61 5.4 OTHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION CHALLENGES ............................................ 61 5.5 SOCIAL WORK DEGREE PATHWAY .............................................................................. 62 5.6 FOCUS ON HOMECARE .............................................................................................. 63 5.7 NEWLY QUALIFIED SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMME .................................................... 64 5.8 OTHER KEY TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES .......................................... 64 5.9 TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICE .................................................................................... 67 5.10 SUPPORT FOR STAFF WELLBEING ........................................................................... 68 6. LOOKING FORWARD – PRIORITIES FOR 2025-2026 AND BEYOND ........................... 68 Page 15 of 138
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5 THE CHIEF SOCIAL WORK OFFICER FUNCTION Every local authority must appoint a professionally qualified Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) as reflected in Section 46 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994. The CSWO provides professional leadership, accountability, and governance for the delivery of social work and social care services, including commissioned services. The CWSO also provides advice on Social Work service delivery and on related issues to the local authority Chief Executive, Elected Members, and the Integrated Joint Board (IJB) promoting understanding of the range of Social Work and Social Care Services, and the complexities involved in delivering statutory responsibilities which require both consideration of need and the management of risk and liberties. Operationally, the CSWO also has a direct remit for decisions on specific statutory matters including in relation to secure accommodation, adoption and welfare guardianship as illustrated below. The CSWO role within North Lanarkshire is held by the Chief Officer, Children, Families, Justice, and Integrated Services. However, the CSWO is supported by the Chief Officer, Adult Social Work Services who holds delegated responsibilities with respect to adult Social Work and social care, deputises in other areas as required and works alongside the CSWO in relation to the other functions of the role. In line with Scottish Government guidance, the CSWO is required to provide an annual report. This report provides an overview of Social Work service delivery in North Lanarkshire for the period April 2024 to March 2025 and covers the following areas: • Governance and accountability arrangements, including partnership working and statutory functions • Service Quality and Performance, including key service improvement activity and challenges impacting service delivery • Resources • Workforce Issues, including workforce planning, training, and development • Future Priorities – Social Work landscape and priorities looking forward to 2025/26 Social Work Services continue to play a critical role in supporting communities in North Lanarkshire and in meeting both national and local priorities to improve outcomes, address ANNUAL REPORT BY CHIEF SOCIAL WORK OFFICER: NORTH LANARKSHIRE 2024-2025 ANNUAL REPORT Page 16 of 138
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6 inequalities and empower those individuals and families who may face exclusion or a range of adversities. Demand challenges driven by a range of societal factors including demographic change and health inequalities continue to impact on Social Work Services alongside financial constraints and new legislative duties reinforcing the need not only to continue to innovate and make improvements in the delivery of statutory functions but to work with partners and those we support to strengthen early support and prevention. This is reflected within the report along with our achievements as staff across the service continue to work with resilience and commitment to support the best possible outcomes for individuals, families and our community, I would like to record my thanks and pay tribute to all staff involved in the delivery of Social Work services in North Lanarkshire for their work over the past year I would also like to thank all internal and external partners, carers, families and communities who have supported us in our work. Alison Gordon Chief Social Work Officer Page 17 of 138
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7 1.1 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL AND NORTH LANARKSHIRE PARTNERSHIP The shared priorities of North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) and partner organisations are set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. These continue to have a focus on tackling inequality and poverty and on inclusive and sustainable growth, and development. Social Work has a critical role in supporting key objectives of the Plan in particular in: Across NLC, all services and partners contribute towards all seven programmes with the social work footprint particularly strong within the Resilient People and Brighter Future programmes. This is reflected by Senior Social Work Manager involvement in the programme boards and the CSWO’s role as SRO for Resilient People, which is focussed on delivering whole family support locally, when families need it, in a way that also addresses the impacts of poverty and reduces inequality. 1. GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ARRANGEMENTS • Supporting children and young people to achieve their potential • Improving community health and well-being • Supporting and facilitating engagement and participation. A focused and integrated five-year Programme of Work, approved in March 2023, supports the Plan for North Lanarkshire. The Programme of Work has seven priorities for delivery as shown below: Page 18 of 138
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8 Throughout this report, many strands of work which are positively impacting on these issues are referenced, reflecting that addressing complex problems such as poverty, family breakdown or social isolation require sustained (and sustainable), relationship-based and community-led responses. The programme provides a framework to support a move towards early, preventive or anticipatory support which helps builds trust, strengthens relationships, and promotes resilience. Whilst transformation activity is reported and governed through programme boards, primary oversight of social work activity and performance within NLC continues to be via the council’s committee structure, with children, families and Justice social work reporting to Education, Children and Families Committee and adult social work to the Adult Care and Social Work Committee ( although functions are delegated to the Health and Social Care Partnership/Integrated Joint Board) North Lanarkshire Children’s Services Partnership (CSP) continues to be the structure through which partners provide governance, strategic planning, direction, and delivery of shared priorities for children’s services in North Lanarkshire. The Children’s Service Partnership Board membership includes Elected Members with Voice reflected through links with North Lanarkshire Youth Council and our Children’s Champion’s Board. There are strong links and cross over with other strategic partnerships, such as NL Child Protection Committee and the Tackling Poverty Officer Action Group (TPOAG). The North Lanarkshire Children’s Services Plan is refreshed every three years and supported through annual reporting. This remains also the key strategic vehicle also for the delivery of the Promise in North Lanarkshire. Social Work has a key role in all the CSP priorities as reflected by the CSWO’s role as lead officer for the CSP and chair of the Improving Children’s Services Group which has oversight of the work of associated task groups. The Community Justice Partnership (CJP), also chaired by the CSWO, has responsibility for the multi-agency oversight of Community Justice in North Lanarkshire. The partnership has a strong ethos of collaboration with a wide range of partners including the NL Alcohol and Drug Partnership and employability services. In turn, this supports options such as diversion, throughcare, bail supervision and our local Arrest Referral Pilot initiated in April 2023. Commitment from partners ensures a holistic response to meeting need. The Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan 2023 to 2028 was informed by engagement including with those with lived experience and by a Strategic Needs Assessment- setting out a framework for our ongoing activity in this area. Both the CSP and CJP report annually to the North Lanarkshire Partnership (NLP) which brings together the major public sector agencies in the area, including Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire (VANL), the local third sector interface. The priorities for delivery across the partnership are set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Page 19 of 138
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9 Nine Community Boards, involving local citizens, continue to support community leadership, involvement, and capacity building, with Local Outcome and Improvement Plans (LOIP) guiding this work. Social Work is fully engaged with these structures with the CSWO continuing to have the role of Community Co-ordinator for one of the local boards whist the Chief Officer Adult Social Work and Senior Managers for Quality Assurance and Strategy & Performance provide links to the UHSCNL and the strategic commissioning activity across all Community Boards. Senior Social Work Managers also participate in area-based teams and the sub-groups which support the delivery of the LOIPs. 1.2 HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE NORTH LANARKSHIRE UHSCNL’s current Strategic Commissioning Plan 2023-26 sets out key priorities for the three-year period with the aim of ensuring that people are robustly supported to live in their own homes and lead independent lives in their communities. Key priorities include: • Do the right thing first time • Increased focus on prevention, early intervention and tackling inequalities by working with communities and people • Develop and support a workforce for the future • Improve mental health and wellbeing • Support people through a whole family approach Under each priority area, an agreed set of short- and medium-term goals has been developed underpinned by the Programme of Work which sets out in detail the programmes to be progressed. These are updated on an annual basis to ensure response to any new or emerging issues. A mid cycle review was published in December 2024 – further information can be found within the minutes of the IJB meeting held 4th December 2024. The Annual Performance Report for 2024-25 will be published later in the year and twill give further details and achievements of the partnership. 1.3 SUPPORT, CARE, PRACTICE AND STAFF GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS Within adult services the Support Care and Clinical Governance Committee (SCCGC) plays a key role and met eight-weekly over the reporting period. Chairing responsibilities are scheduled to change from the UHSCP Medical Director to the Chief Officer Adult Social Work during 2026. Adult Social Work Governance meetings included a programme of assurance and improvement for Adult Social Work Services. This fed into the SCCGC structure. During 2024-25 a review of the reporting process and format for Social Work Services was undertaken by the professional and operational managers, supported by our Quality Assurance team whose role continues to support all social work care groups. Practitioners and managers are supported with assurance activity including: • A test of change as a precursor to broadening self-evaluation for each of the teams Page 20 of 138
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10 • Engagement with individuals and carers around lived experience • Feedback from staff • Monitoring of regulated services and regulated workforce • Safety • Review of complaints and compliments • 6 monthly reports on learning and development • A review of current policies and procedures is underway • Introduction of a quarterly commissioned services performance report Our In-House Monitoring Framework was previously approved for a test of change. This concluded within the reporting period and, following evaluation, operational roll out will commence in April 25. The range of work undertaken by Quality Assurance is detailed in the QA Annual Report. External scrutiny is primarily undertaken through the Care Inspectorate through regular inspection of regulated services including Care at Home, Support Services, Children’s Houses and Family Placement Services with further detail provided within the Quality Assurance report. Strategic and thematic inspections are also undertaken periodically by the Care Inspectorate, the former with other inspection partners. Over this reporting year a thematic (nationwide) inspection of Children’s Throughcare and Aftercare services was undertaken, with North Lanarkshire one of four areas subject to a ‘deep dive’ – details of the findings of this inspection are included within section 2.4.2 of this report. In addition to the mechanisms referenced above practice and staff governance and development across social work functions continue to be supported by an integrated professional meeting structure (social work leadership, social work solutions and social work workforce planning) which maintain coherence across adult, justice and children and family services. 1.3.1 SELF ASSESSMENT Over the course of the reporting period within Adult Services we developed a self-assessment toolkit, which takes the form of an edited version of the Quality Assurance Framework, as set out in the Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Quality Management System. This approach allowed us to self-assess our capacity for improvement across a range of themes, with each theme setting out criteria with associated quality indicators. The Framework is not intended a checklist, but a reference guide to support and inform reflection, evaluation and decision making about how best to improve outcomes for people. In March 2025, we engaged a small number of services in piloting this self-assessment approach. Through the completion of this self-assessment, we are able inform discussion on what good care looks like; and identify any actions for learning that supports the importance of Direction, Implementation & Delivery and Results. We recognise that by considering leadership and culture; vision and purpose; and the importance of co-design and relationships, we can shape services to ensure good outcome Page 21 of 138
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11 for people across our communities. The learning from the pilot(s) will inform wider roll out across all Adult Social Work and Social Care services. 1.4 PUBLIC PROTECTION ARRANGEMENTS North Lanarkshire Chief Officer Public Protection Group (NLCOPP), chaired by the Council Chief Executive and supported by the CSWO continues to provide oversight and direction for local multi-agency public protections arrangements updating its terms of reference within this period. The group regularly considers reports and data from the local Child and Adult Protection Committees, pan-lanarkshire MAPPA Strategic Oversight Group and Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Partnership and additionally Suicide and Drug Deaths and associated prevention activity. The newly established National Public Protection Leadership Group continues to develop its links with local partnerships and provides a vehicle to address common challenges and improvement areas in particular crosscutting issues, at a local level we continue to address these both at system and practice level, with work continuing on transitional safeguarding and incorporating learning from reviews. With recent guidance broadening the criteria for learning reviews in public protection we are also continuing to explore how these can best be resourced to support improvement. 1.5 CARE HOME ASSURANCE Care Homes continue to benefit from the support offered by the Care Home Liaison Team. The team consists of a range of professionals providing bespoke and specialised advice, guidance and practical assistance specialising in areas such as falls, mental health, infection control, continence, pharmacy, and anticipatory care planning, all of which are conducive to continued wellbeing and improved quality of life for adults and older people living in Care Homes. Focused activity and change projects have reported improved outcomes for people resident within Care Homes within North Lanarkshire. Some of the most significant developments are as follows: • Reduction in falls • Improved continence • Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT) facilitate reviews for all new admissions and residents of concern with zero waiting time • RESPECT emergency plan offered to all residents • Call before you convey professional advice line for out of hours advice or input • Increase in Hospital at Home usage • Health colleagues trained as second workers to participate in Adult Support & Protection investigations Page 22 of 138
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12 Following review of the enhanced clinical and care oversight arrangements for care homes reported last year, there has been continued support commissioned through the Care Home Assurance and Support Board and the Care Home Collaborative Group. The Safety Huddle Multi-Disciplinary Forum has continued to build on the good practice embedded during the pandemic. The focus of work has been reviewed and refined to include the RAG ratings for each Care Home within North Lanarkshire. Adult Support and Protection escalations have also been included in discussions. These further enhancements maximise the effectiveness of the arrangements in place enabling intelligence to be shared between agencies to identify and allow support to be provided to care homes at risk. Actions are agreed collaboratively to provide an immediate response to safeguard residents. Work to increase the capacity to enhance engagement and participation across our communities and amongst supported people and unpaid carers has continued in line with the ambition of the Plan for North Lanarkshire and the UHSCNL Strategic Commissioning Plan. The key ambitions of our continued investment to engage supported people, unpaid carers and communities is to: • Improve communication and increase connections • Increase awareness of what matters to people • Increase capacity for early intervention and prevention During 2024-25 the investment and focus to ensure that the voices of supported people was strengthened and has gathered pace. The partnership of the North Lanarkshire Disability Forum (NLDF), Lanarkshire Links (LL) and Voice of Experience Forum (VoEF), work together to deliver a wide range of recurring and non- recurring actions, events and programmes of work using a wide range of methods to engage with supported people and support active participation. They have a remit that includes to: • Build links, create opportunities, and strengthen the interface with supported people • Develop and support an Engagement & Participation Network (E&PN), bringing together groups and organisations who involve and represent supported people • Administer a Growth Pot Fund to enable engagement and participation activities with an aim to reach out to underrepresented communities During 2024-25 there were two rounds of Growth Pot funding that generated 55 applications and 20 awards totalling just over £80,000. The fund reached minority ethnic groups, rural communities and those who experience disability, mental health issues and addictions, and helped these groups better engage with the UHSCP. In September 2024, the University Health 1.6 ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO USE SUPPORT SERVICES, THE COMMUNITY, AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR Page 23 of 138
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13 and Social Care Engagement and Participation Strategy was launched alongside the Growth Pot Fund. North Lanarkshire Carers Together are a well-established community-based organisation working on behalf of carers to ensure the voice of carers is raised, amplified, and heard. They reach out to carers, share information, and campaign for identified issues relevant to carers, represent the carers voice in decision making forums. There is a full programme of work with a focus on engagement and participation through a range of approaches and methods. The Strategy for Carers 2024–27 was developed with carers and carer organisations. Supporting this strategy is an annual event - Commitment to Carers - engaging with carers, staff, and relevant partners to acknowledge their commitment, showcase services and supports, share significant achievements and gather views on what is important to them to support future plans in this area. Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire oversees the Community Solutions approach and the Children, Young People and Family Network. This supports a broader reach within communities and opportunities to engage in what matters to people in the localities of North Lanarkshire. Community Solutions enables investment in community led initiatives that build community, family, and individual strengths and resources - with a focus on prevention and early intervention. There is engagement with localities to build community capacity, through anchor organisations and Community Consortia provide leadership and co-ordination of activities. Within Children’s Services the Voice Task Group which supports the work of the partnership has further integrated the voice of young people in planning and decision making, by creating opportunities for dialogue between staff and young people through a bi-ennial Youth Voice Conference and leadership staff attending North Lanarkshire Youth Council meetings. Increasingly children and young people have been actively involved in service design such as aftercare support, funding decisions such as allocation on funds to support the mental health and wellbeing framework and raising awareness of UNCRC through a peer led workshop for children and young people. Parents and carers were involved in the procurement of a whole family support services within the developing community hubs. In Justice Services two development workers with lived experience have continued to support consultation activity with those involved with the service. The digital questionnaire they developed last year has been applied to routinely gather feedback on the experience of supported people as well as ideas for developments and service improvements. This questionnaire is complemented with a mid-point and end point evaluation focused on the experience of engagement with justice services. The commissioning of Care Opinion in Adult Health and Social Care and Mind of my Own in Education and Families ensures there are opportunities online for adults, children, and young people to comment, feedback on their experiences and/ or raise concerns. Page 24 of 138
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14 2.1 PERFORMANCE AND IMPACT MEASUREMENT In line with the governance arrangements outlined above our formal reporting is presented for a variety of audiences, reflecting the scheme of integration and delegation of services to the North Lanarkshire Integrated Joint Board (IJB) and the governance of services within several partnership arrangements. Indicators are in place for core aspects of service, such as access, operational performance, workforce, quality, and outcomes, ensuring that we both monitor and demonstrate how we have fulfilled statutory responsibilities, met needs and produced positive outcomes for the supported people and that the work represents best value for the Local Authority. Critically, in addition to quantitative data, a variety of methods are used to measure impact, outcomes and how people experience our service as reflected throughout this report. In addition to these internal arrangements, performance and quality is both monitored and regulated by several external bodies. Social Work Services provide validated performance and demographic data to the Scottish Government and the various agencies who support Social Work development in Scotland. This data supports the creation of national indicator sets, such as the Local Government Benchmarking Framework and the Integration Indicators which can then be used to support benchmarking and self-evaluation. The Scottish Social Services Council, and the Care Inspectorate also have an assurance role with respect to registered staff groups and regulated services respectively, the latter through regular inspections whilst the Care Inspectorate also have an oversight and assurance role with respect to case reviews in the areas of public protection and justice services as well as in scrutiny through strategic and thematic inspections in partnership with other inspection bodies. Key performance information covering the range of social work service delivery is set out within this section of the report alongside highlights of continuous improvement and development activity. 2.2 SUPPORT TO UNPAID CARERS Support for unpaid carers continues to be critical to sustaining our families and communities. During 2024, a tender exercise to procure carer support services was undertaken, in line with legislation. The contract value of the tender was £18 million, over a six-year period, demonstrating the financial commitment to supporting carers locally. Five lots were included in the tender, with the successful bidders being: • Lanarkshire Carers: to provide carer support, carer short breaks and to fulfil the devolved responsibility (from NLC) for progressing Adult Carer Support Plans (ACSP's). • North Lanarkshire Carers Together: to provide carer information, advice, engagement, and campaigning. • Alzheimer's Scotland: to provide information and support specific to dementia related care. • Getting Better Together (GBT): to provide support to carers around hospital discharge 2. SERVICE DEVELOPMENT, QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE Page 25 of 138
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15 • Action For Children Young Carers Project: to support young carers and to fulfil the devolved responsibility (from NLC) for progressing Young Carers Statements (YCS) Other organisations, with either a direct, or indirect focus on supporting carers remain important in ensuring that the local carer support landscape benefits from a diversity of provision. Augmenting the wide range of activities undertaken as part of Carers Week in June 2024, the second North Lanarkshire "Commitment to Carers" event took place in May 2024 and marked the launch of the North Lanarkshire Carers Strategy 2024-2027. The strategy was the culmination of engagement and participation activity with carers and sets out how caring related needs can be best met over this period. The innovative Carer Breather approach in North Lanarkshire, administered by NLCT and provided by University Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire to deliver options that give carers, and people being cared for, a break from the caring routine was expanded in early 2025 with 15 organisations successfully bidding for Carer Breather funding, This, alongside the short breaks’ bureau, overseen by Lanarkshire Carers, continues to ensure that a range of carer break options are available to carers locally. Developments in technology, alongside equipment available through Making Life easier (MLE), the Equipment and Adaptation Service and the Community Alarm Service saw an increasing number of people, including carers, being supported through these options, all of which seek to maximise independence and minimise risk. This is a trend which is expected to increase over time, as the benefits of connected, linked in support and the reassurance that assistance and support can be on hand, if needed, become increasingly apparent. Estimates vary but suggest that there may be around 40,000 to 50,000 unpaid carers in North Lanarkshire currently, with around 11,000 of these currently known to services. Demographic information highlights that there is a considerable number of carers aged over 70 locally, so the focus on preventative and anticipatory planning remains as vital as ever. 2.3 JUSTICE SOCIAL WORK SERVICES Justice Social Work Services have seen demand relating to core statutory responsibilities increase as the justice system continues to address the backlog of COVID impacts. Service delivery continues to be shaped by key priorities set out in both our new Community Justice Outcome and Improvement Plan (2023-2028) and the Scottish Government’s Vision for Justice published in February 2022, and its supporting strategy published in June 2022, with an increased focus on areas such as diversion from prosecution and bail supervision. We continue to promote a holistic approach to working with people with convictions, to ensure that in addition to robust risk management, support is offered to address the range of issues, such as health and employment barriers, which can inhibit rehabilitation and inclusion and, in turn, better lives and safer communities. Page 26 of 138
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16 2.3.1 COMMUNITY PAYBACK ORDER-INCLUDING UNPAID WORK Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, 898 people were made subject to new Community Payback Orders with a condition of supervision attached. Of those, 551 people were also required to complete unpaid work. The Community Payback Order continues to provide Courts with a credible alternative to Custody, with Justice Services continuing to engage individuals in their communities, utilising a proportionate, trauma informed and rights-based approach, supporting individuals address areas of identified risk, needs and seeking to reduce the likelihood of further involvement in the Justice system. Linked to this, communities within North Lanarkshire have benefited from almost 91,000 hours of unpaid work delivered through the service’s Restorative Justice Team. This year’s figures evidence for the second year running that the operational delivery has returned to levels commensurate with pre-pandemic activity. Demand continues to grow and during the period of this report 139,024 hours were imposed by Courts in relation to Unpaid Work and Other Activity, a further rise of more than 5,000 hours imposed over the previous year. The following paragraphs provide an overview of key unpaid work activities: The woodwork workshop teaches joinery skills which enables bespoke items to be made from reclaimed wood pallets which would otherwise be destined for landfill. Working in partnership with family learning centers, nurseries, schools, and communities has allowed those people engaged in unpaid work to be involved in the construction of outdoor classrooms and play equipment helping to promote outdoor play for children throughout our community. In total, 554 items have been constructed and situated within our communities. The bike recycling workshop refurbished bikes, which have been donated by individuals or have been discarded in local recycling centres. The bikes are repaired to a gold standard and are distributed to local community groups, schools, and individuals helping to maximise opportunities for better health and well-being and providing greater transportation access. Service users within the workshop also undertake bike repairs for individuals who are unable to afford the cost of this. During this period purchase of a mobile bike recycling trailer has extended the provision of bike maintenance and repair within the local communities. To support this also a further 5 members of staff have obtained Velatech Training in Level 1,2 & 3 bronze, silver and gold. In total, 1,443 hours of unpaid work were completed through this area of activity resulting in 364 bikes being donated to individuals within our community. Our Home Improvement workshop provides opportunities for service users to gain experience in decorating, painting, and plastering, giving service users skills which can help them in the labour market. Once the individual is proficient in these disciplines, they utilise the skills learned on a project within the local community. This provides more experience to enhance employment pathways. Page 27 of 138
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17 Squad placements are focused on activities such as landscaping. In total 2049 hours have been completed within squad placements ranging from one to two-day pieces of work to larger projects with a duration of four to six months. In partnership with local housing colleagues and school staff, the Restorative Justice unpaid work team has also facilitated learning events at our community allotments in Townhead, Clydeside, and Wishaw enabling children and people in the local community to sow seeds and learn about different growing techniques. Participants can be invited back later in the year to experience the harvest taking place and can also take away some of the produce. In total 2876 hours have been completed within our allotments, with the produce being distributed to local sheltered housing complexes, food banks, and the public. 2.3.2 OTHER ACTIVITY The embedding of Scottish Government Covid-19 recovery funding has enabled the continued commissioning of Third Sector colleagues to assist in the delivery of ‘other activity’ programmes including: • The Wise Group provided one to one mentoring support for 50 service users. Between 1 June 2024 and 31 March 2025 each of these service users were allocated a mentor for an average of one month and received approximately 12 hours of support throughout that period. As part of their agreed action plan service users can have access to a small discretionary fund to help with their social inclusion through participation in community activities. Following review, an extension to the mentoring period can be provided if necessary. • Reel Time Music project provides service users with an opportunity to undertake sessions in developing skills in relation to creating and producing music, podcasts, or videos. These groups accommodate eight to ten service users at a time, and their videos, and songs are publicly featured and celebrated. • SACRO provide practical support to service users which is delivered using a mentoring approach. The workers act as role models and assist individuals to build self-esteem and improve motivation. • Ten for Zen provides service users with options to develop mindfulness techniques and to experience the emotional, mental, psychological, and physical health benefits that can be gained from this. Examples of these sessions include changing unhelpful habits, managing stress, anxiety, or addressing a lack of hope or in managing anger. Justice Services also directly provide a range of opportunities for service users to engage in Other Activity. Utilising the e-learning workbook resource pack provides blended digital learning which can be completed in partnership with staff. Individuals also use the resources of The Centre for Clinical Interventions as well as the NHS Mental Health Foundation Trust to undertake work in the following areas: Page 28 of 138
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18 • Anxiety, Self-Care, Social Anxiety, Bereavement, PTSD, Self-harm, Sleeping Problems, Depression and Low Mood, Obsessions/ Compulsions and Panic. • Alcohol and You, Cannabis and You, Cocaine, Gambling, Anger Management and Procrastination. • Goal Setting, Self-Development, Writing applications and Interview techniques. The service provides opportunities for accredited training in First aid at Work Level 5 SCQF; 23 individuals have successfully completed this award. 2.3.3 DIVERSION FROM PROSECUTION In line with the priority of extending the use of diversion from prosecution, eleven awareness raising sessions were delivered to over 70 social work staff across children and families, older and younger adults over this period complementing a 3-year programme of training developed and delivered by NLC Restorative Justice Services to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Police Scotland. In 2024-25, 242 Diversion from Prosecution Orders were successfully completed, a 49% increase from the previous year. Following the national Thematic Review of Diversion from Prosecution, aligned to the revised national justice strategy, it is anticipated that more complex cases will be included in the scheme going forward. Preparatory work is underway to ensure local policy and procedures will be in accordance with the revised national guidance once published. 2.3.4 OFFENCE FOCUSED WORK Moving Forward to Change NLC Justice Services have been one of the pilot areas for the new Scottish Government MF2C (Moving Forward to Change) programme which will supersede the MFMC (Moving Forward Making Changes) programme. MF2C is an intensive cognitive behavioural therapy intervention for men over the age of 18 who have committed sexual offences and aims to reduce risk of reoffending and is delivered as part of a Court Order or release License. The new programme has been adapted to incorporate up to date literature and can be delivered within Prison-based establishments as well as the community. The Justice Programme Service has now fully transitioned to the new programme. MF2C has been scaled up during the reporting period and there are now a minimum of two groups being facilitated each week, as well as 2:1 delivery for those with additional needs and risks. The programme has been delivered with relative success in relation to low reoffending rates and Scottish Government are now in the process of fully implementing the new programme across all local authorities. Page 29 of 138
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19 UP2U The UP2U intimate partner violence approach continues to be invested in by Justice Social Work (JSW), with new staff continuing to be trained in this programme and existing staff being given access to refresher training inputs. We are now delivering ‘UP2U – Creating healthy relationships two’ the updated version of the domestic abuse intervention programme to individuals convicted of intimate partner violence and who are subject to a requirement to undertake UP2U. Integral to this intervention is the offer and provision of partner support for those who have been, or are still, victims of intimate partner violence. Our UP2U team has also established partnership arrangements with partner support services such as Aura, Women’s Aid and GBV services and is responsible for representing Justice Social Work as part of the MARAC process reflecting our commitment to preventing domestic homicide and domestic harm. At present the service does not receive funding to support the delivery of the alternative Caledonian Programme however Scottish Government has given an indication of their intention to roll this out to those areas who do not currently receive funding over 2025. Should this progress it would be our intention to enhance our provision by running both programmes. Prison Based Social Work (PBSW) Increasing accessibility to offence focused interventions is also a priority area in our Prison Based Social Work (PBSW) team, based in HMP Shotts. To assist this, PBSW staff continue to maintain their new streamlined system to ensure all individuals are risk assessed within the first five months of entry into HMP Shotts and ahead of their first Integrated Case Management Meeting (ICM). This has had a positive impact on the Risk Management Teams’ ability to make decisions more timeously on an individual’s progression through the prison estate, leading to better outcomes for people serving prison sentences and their families. 2.3.5 WOMEN’S COMMUNITY JUSTICE SERVICE (WCJS) AND BAIL SUPERVISION The Women’s Community Justice Service (WCJS) was established in 2014 in response to the Commission on Women Offenders. Most service users within the service are subject to Community Payback Orders with requirements of supervision and/or unpaid work however the service also works with women subject to parole board licenses, bail supervision and alternatives to prosecution. During the reporting period the service has further developed its Bail Supervision offer and now has an established pathway for early identification of these cases in collaboration with the court team so that timeous support can be provided to maximise engagement and supporting the national priority to reduce the number of women who experience custody. Page 30 of 138
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20 We have also strengthened the management of our Women’s unpaid work service during this reporting period by deploying an existing Senior Social Worker to oversee and manage female only unpaid work activities. Most of the women using the WCJS have experienced trauma and supporting them with their emotional and mental health needs remains a key element of interventions to support positive outcomes. Multi-agency partnership working with Children and Families, Shine Women’s Mentoring Service, Domestic Abuse and Addiction Services, is also crucial to support this service user group. A new intervention resource entitled ‘Managing Emotions and Relationships’ enabling staff to utilise Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to facilitate structured conversations that help Women to develop better coping strategies. It is planned to extend delivery from primarily a 1-1 basis to groupwork over the coming year. 2.3.6 OTHER NEW DEVELOPMENTS Voluntary Throughcare Through the local Community Justice Partnership employability subgroup, additional funding was secured to extend the offer of our current voluntary throughcare service beyond HMP Addiewell. As a result, a Justice Support Worker was recruited, and the Bridges and Beyond initiative now offers person-centered outreach support to individuals serving a short-term sentence- in various prisons across central Scotland. The Bridges and Beyond service supported 46 service users in 2024-25. The service aims to remove barriers to employment and resettlement for those serving short term prison sentences. It is crucial in helping to reintegrate individuals into the community and reduce the prison population. During 2024 a new national commissioning exercise for a voluntary throughcare service was initiated through Community Justice Scotland. A focus over the coming year be to consider how this will interface with current local arrangements. Early Release of Prisoners In May 2024, Scottish Government brought forward plans to invoke the emergency release of prisoners under the new Bail and Release from Custody Act (2023). This meant that up to 66 North Lanarkshire residents serving short term prison sentences would be released early, to help address the emergency prison population crisis. A local multi-agency planning group was established in North Lanarkshire and led by Justice Social Work. The group coordinated activity to ensure all individuals had access to services and were supported back into the community safely. This local multi agency group was again mobilised in January 2025, to manage a further tranche of early release activity following The Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill coming into Force in February 2025. This new legislation means that individuals serving four years or less will be Page 31 of 138
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21 automatically released when 40% of their sentence has been served in custody. 31 individuals were supported by Justice Social Work and partner agencies as part of this work, with the local authority's public protection frameworks utilised to ensure any presenting risk was managed safely using a partnership approach. Drug and Alcohol Solutions Court In September 2023, NLC Justice Services recruited two Justice Support Workers, funded by the North Lanarkshire Alcohol & Drug Partnership (NLADP), to support the introduction of a Lanarkshire wide Drug & Alcohol Solutions Court. This is a Structured Deferred Sentence initiative based at Hamilton Sherrif Court which adopts a public health approach to working with people aged 21-55 who are impacted by drug and, or alcohol, and who are in conflict with the law. Impact measurement through the use of outcome star data over this period indicates that all service users who have accessed support through the initiative have reported progress across multiple life domains. Of note service user feedback indicates that those individuals who have previously breached more defined orders such as Drug Treatment and Testing Order find the flexibility and assertive outreach dimension to the support as well as the trauma informed approach within court, to be more effective. DTTO Drug Testing and Treatment Orders (DTTO) are a Court sentencing disposal aimed at supporting individuals whose problematic drug use is contributing to their offending behaviour. This is achieved through intensive support, drug testing and monthly appearances in front of the sentencing Sheriff. NL DTTO service was designed, and is delivered, in partnership with North Lanarkshire’s Addictions Recovery Teams. A recent development has included the adoption of an Addiction Worker within the DTTO team, this has enhanced consistency of service delivery. The team continue to benefit from funding from the Alcohol and Drug Partnership, the additional resource enables the staff to deliver assertive outreach to enhance engagement. 2.3.7 ARREST REFERRAL An Arrest Referral test for change has continued in North Lanarkshire’s Police Custody suites. Significantly, support is delivered by people with lived experience of the justice system and offers opportunity for early partnership working with individuals in Police custody with a focus on early intervention, provision of direct and practical support, together with a pathway for referral to appropriate supports. This service was the subject of independent evaluation in 2024-25. Iconic Consultancy completed this evaluation and detailed that the service had received 458 referrals during the evaluated period, 84 % of these in respect of adult males. Findings included evidence that the service was successful in engaging hard to reach individuals and was successfully doing so during a time of personal crises, highlighting positive evidence of Page 32 of 138
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22 the effectiveness of a Public Health approach. The evaluation calculated the average cost for each referral at £262 against projected overall savings to the wider Justice system as a direct result of the service. Given the positive impact of the service to date, funding has been extended for a further 12 months to provide scope for further development and to enable exploration of how the service can be offered sustainably . 2.4 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SOCIAL WORK SERVICES Children and Families Social Work has continued its focus on creating the conditions and culture that enables practice that is rights-based, trauma informed and built on relationships. To help us achieve this ambition, the service has made good progress in its implementation of Signs of Safety and Healing with all Social Workers, working as lead professionals, trained in the approach. Towards the end of the reporting year, Social Workers began to use the Signs of Safety and Healing approach with families, and the accompanying assessment framework, in all work with children and families in need of care and protection. This was an important step in helping us move away from traditional investigatory approaches to child protection to a way of working which is focused on building safety for children, young people and families by helping people think their way through the issues they are facing and maximising strengths. Whilst Signs of Safety and Healing is now our core approach to practice, it is complemented by other strengths-based ways of working such as Contextual Safeguarding (for children and young people at risk of harm outside the home) and Safe and Together (for families impacted by domestic abuse) to give Social Workers a strong, coherent and value-driven framework for practice. 2.4.1 THE BALANCE OF CARE During 2024-25, the children and families service received 10,279 referrals (requests for assistance and notifications of concern). While this represents a 20% increase in the rate of referrals pre the COVID-19 pandemic, this level of referral rate is just under the average referral rate of 10,713 over the past 4 years. This level of request for a Social Work Service is due to several factors post Covid, including an increase in children with additional support needs, the impact of poverty, young people at risk of significant harm outside the home and enduring social problems such as domestic abuse. The drop-in referral rate of approximately 700 referrals from 23/24 to 24/25, may be attributable to investment in a range of early help services enabled by a range of temporary funding streams including the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund, Scottish Equity Fund and Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework, the latter recently mainstreamed, and if so this is a positive shift. We will however continue to monitor how our investments in preventative family support reduce crises for families and impact on the demand for social work support. Whilst more difficult to Page 33 of 138
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23 measure, it is also notable that there appears to be an increase in complexity of need within families who do require social work intervention. The table below illustrates a snapshot of the balance of care in North Lanarkshire over the past 4 years. The overall balance of care is relatively stable with only a slight increase in our care experienced population over the 5 years. The number of care experienced children receiving care in 2024 was 2% of the child population, which is in line with the national average and slightly less than rate for our family group of local authorities (2.5%). The data show a steady increase in the number of children in kinship care which reflects our commitment for children remaining within their families, supported by approaches such as Family Group Decision Making and by our kinship care team. This increased use of kinship is also reflected in a decrease in the use of foster care as the overall numbers of children supported in family placements have remained relatively stable. Despite the increase in the complexity of children with additional support needs, our integrated approach with education has succeeded in supporting most children in North Lanarkshire with their care and education, avoiding an increase in out-of-authority placement. Of the seven children who experienced secure care at some point over the year, four were placed under the authorization of the Chief Social Work Officer on welfare grounds. As in previous years, this has been due to significant risks including those associated with criminal exploitation (CCE), and it was the second time in secure care for three children who had experienced CCE. Balance of Care Placement Type Number As Of 31 March 2021 Number As Of 31 March 2022 Number As Of 31 March 2023 Number As Of 31 March 2024 Number As Of 31 March 2025 Foster care (NLC) 112 94 89** 91** 85 Foster care (Independent) 61 53 51 57 61 Home Supervision 227 188 205 196 203 Formal Kinship Care 321 307 325 358 365 Informal Kinship Care 170 183 191 180 192 Residential (NLC) 27 27 31 32 30 Residential (Independent) 11 11 9 10 9 Secure* 2 6 7 5 7 Continuing Care 53 73 74 77 73 *The number of young people spending time in secure accommodation during the full year. Note there was an average of 3 NL young people in secure care on any given day during 24/25. This figure includes those remanded or sentenced through court processes. Page 34 of 138
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24 ** adjusted from figures reported in previous CSWO report following data quality review. 2.4.2 MOVING ON: SUPPORTING CARE EXPERIENCED YOUNG PEOPLE Increasing the quality and availability of support for care experienced young people who have left care has been, and continues to be, a focus for improvement. Additional investment from the council and NHSL, and use of the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework monies, has supported us to create an ‘Aftercare Hub’ delivered from our intensive services base which provides holistic social, health, counselling, and housing support from one space. The hub complements support from locality Social Workers to provide additional help to young people over seven days a week where required. The increase in the numbers of young people supported is illustrated in the table below: Care Experienced Young People Experiencing After Care Number As Of 31 March 2022 Number As Of 31 March 2023 Number As Of 31 March 2024 Number As Of 31 March 2025 Number of young people eligible for compulsory aftercare (age 16 and 17) 113 98 59 48 Number of young people in receipt of compulsory aftercare (age 16 and 17) 75 77 42 40 Number of young people eligible for discretionary aftercare (18-25) 197 506 521 531 Number of young people in receipt of discretionary aftercare (18-25) 67 257 252 275 The reduction by more than half in 16- and 17-year-olds leaving care reflects our commitment for young people to remain in care or continuing care until ready to move to independence and it is positive that nearly all 16- and 17-year-olds who do leave care (including care at home with parents) for whatever reason accept the support offered. 63% of young people who left care at the age of 16 or 17 were care experienced at home or in kinship care. In 2024, North Lanarkshire was selected by the Care Inspectorate as one of four partnerships to participate in a focused review of experiences of young people and the quality of the services being provided for them, as part of an overall high level national review of throughcare and after care support. In North Lanarkshire, the Care Inspectorate found: • North Lanarkshire had a clear approach and commitment to supporting and improving the participation of care experienced young people and providing effective opportunities for them to influence service design. • Young people had opportunities to establish supportive, compassionate, and responsive relationships with staff and other key people involved in their support. Page 35 of 138
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25 • Leaders ensured there were mechanisms in place for all services to collaborate effectively to meet the needs of care experienced young people. • Overall, young people said they were receiving the right support at the right time across the pillars of the Care Leavers Covenant. However, some stated they were not receiving support with their mental health, housing, and offending behaviour. • Some young people commented on the difficulties they experienced due to not feeling ready or prepared for moving on, nor in the right place for them once they had moved on. The review also highlighted our integrated approach to health and wellbeing as an area of good practice based on listening to the voices of care experienced young people and involving them in service design to remove barriers for young people to access health services. The approach comprises of Social Work staff, NHSL funded Nurses and the Exchange Counselling staff working collaboratively from the After Care Hub, which we have found is crucial to meet needs and avoid young people being lost or excluded from adult orientated systems. Over 2024, the throughcare and after care nurses worked with 82 young people with a higher number of males than females referred, although this ratio is in line with the local number of males/females who are entitled to aftercare support. The highest number of referrals were for those aged 16-18 years and additionally, those 22–23 years. Below are the reasons stated for young people being referred to this element of our service. Feedback from young people about the service has been very positive, with the service receiving a 4.8 out of 5-star rating. What young people have said about the service: • “There is someone to talk to you.” • “They have helped me a lot I wouldn’t be going to dentist/doctors’ appointments without them they are great and really helpful.” • “I felt listened to and helped by the nurse.” • “I think it’s a great service for young people.” • “It is a lot better than most services I have attended.” Page 36 of 138
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26 The Exchange Counselling Service, codesigned and produced with and for care experienced young people increased the number of young people supported from 42 in 2023-24 to 64 young people in 2024-25. 53 young people receiving face-to-face support and 11 alternate methods. The most prevalent reasons for accessing support were Trauma, Bereavement, Anxiety, Family Relationships/ Home issues, and Anger. 81% of young people reported an improved outcome at the conclusion of their intervention, with no requirement for any onward referrals being made to other services. The Aftercare hub is complemented by a bespoke co-designed website, Aftercare Northlan, which went live at the beginning of 24/25. Over the last year there has been over 2100 visits to the site with positive feedback about the content, with the most popular pages visited - Pathway Planning (My Future Planning), Money Matters and Where I Live, a potential reflection of the priority needs of young people. 2.4.3 A LOVING HOME: ADOPTION, FOSTERING AND KINSHIPCARE Family Care The Children’s Carers Service provides support to kinship carers, supported carers of young adults, as well as to adopters and foster carers to achieve loving homes for children and young people into adulthood. Despite a reduction of the overall number of in-house foster carers, our use of foster carers from other agencies has remained relatively stable thanks to the commitment and flexibility of our carers supported by our carers team. Our carers have also worked to keep as many brothers and sisters together as possible. Of the 92 children starting a new placement during the year, 61% were living with at least one brother of sister. This represented a slight increase compared to the previous year. Page 37 of 138
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27 Initial Enquiries and All Outcomes 2021-2025 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 The reduction in foster carers is however an area of concern both locally and nationally. Locally from our data we can see that the number of in-house foster carers continued to decrease. Recruitment therefore has continued to be a high priority. While there was a slight reduction in the number of enquiries we received about fostering over the previous year, the proportion of people who progressed to be assessed as foster carers increased as illustrated in the table below. 0 Initial Enquiries Initial Inverviews Attended Prep Group Progressed to Full Assessment 2021/22 120 63 21 8 2022/23 128 68 28 10 2023/24 131 57 28 9 2024/25 112 48 21 12 Despite the challenges in recruitment, the number of foster carers is consistent with previous years: As illustrated in the tables above, our adoption data has remained constant since post-Covid. Adoption approvals have also increased, reflecting the continued interest and enquiries on adoption. This means that we can match children in need of adoption to adoptive parents, mostly Approved Assessment by Resource 2024-2025 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Approved Assessments Adoption Foster Care 2021/22 14 7 7 2022/23 11 8 3 2023/24 16 10 6 2024/25 17 11 6 Page 38 of 138
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28 within North Lanarkshire. We have continued to offer learning and development opportunities to adopters both pre- and post-approval alongside post-adoption support groups and commenced a review of what other supports may be helpful moving forward for adopters, particularly for adopters of teenagers. A short-life working group considered feedback from children, young people, and adopters and will provide the basis for service redesign as part of our wider corporate parenting review. As well as recruitment, retention and support for existing carers has been a priority with access to our training and support programme enhanced to include adopters and kinship carers. Early indications are this has been successful in increasing numbers of participants with positive feedback on the added value to carers understanding of each other's roles and the needs of the children within their care. To support carer wellbeing, sessions in mindfulness and mindful yoga were provided along with a second therapeutic support group for adopters and permanent carers. In response to feedback we also piloted work with a qualified Social Worker to support carers with an understanding of trauma practice, exploring self-regulation in a space which builds from lived experience. As reflected above many children who live away from home, live in kinship care in North Lanarkshire increasing demand for support from the kinship team. Kinship support groups also took place on a fortnightly basis across North Lanarkshire with individual therapeutic and groupwork sessions also introduced involving mindfulness and trauma informed yoga which were well attended by kinship carers at the children’s carers centre. The number of children formally looked after in kinship care has increased over the past three years and in response, we have recruited additional support workers to help carers manage the complexity and emotional demands of their caring role. This has increased our capacity for practical and emotional support going forward. Our Virtual School has also prioritised support to kinship families including in school holiday periods, this has been well attended and evaluated well. Children’s Houses There continued to be significant pressures on the demand for residential childcare and throughout the year our children’s houses have remained at or slightly over capacity. In large part this has been driven by an increase in young people being at risk of harm out with the family home, in line with UK-wide trends. These risks to young people often compound existing pressures and difficulties facing families meaning our children’s houses have continued to look after young people with a high level of complex needs. To support staff and service development in light of these complexities and the needs of young people in our children’s houses, we have recruited a Senior Social Worker with the specific remit to provide quality assurance and oversight to the children’s houses. This post, subject to review at two years is supporting our self-evaluation work and inspection activities; to develop annual Page 39 of 138
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29 improvements plans and work to strengthen children and young peoples’ voices and individual planning. Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children Within North Lanarkshire we have a well-established multi-disciplinary resettlement team, this comprised of colleagues from Social Work, housing and community learning and development. Social Work staff have specific statutory responsibilities for our unaccompanied children and young people who are deemed as care experienced upon arrival with demand growing over time in line with the increasing number of young people arriving through the mandatory National Transfer Scheme (NTS). As at end March 2025 we were supporting 64 unaccompanied children and young people (UASC) including a small number of ‘spontaneous’ arrivals Following self-evaluation activity, the team have developed links with our local college, New College Lanarkshire to ensure our young people had access to full time further education in our local area, The service also introduced trauma informed yoga and grounding support for access by the children and young people who otherwise find it difficult to participate in mainstream talking therapies due to the language barriers. The team have also developed a partnership with a charity who focus on the benefits of nature and outdoor healing to support with the impacts of trauma. These enhancements in our service were well received and evaluated by the children and young people accessing these and strengthens the offer of support from North Lanarkshire Council that already exists through our social work, housing and Community Learning and Development offer. Whilst tariff funding is received through the Home Office to support associated costs the increasing number of young people supported mean that our previous model of supporting all arrivals through our children’s houses or supported carers is no longer sustainable and we are therefore continuing to develop and review wider accommodation and support models in close liaison with housing colleagues. 2.4.4 INTENSIVE FAMILY SUPPORT Social Work intensive services work alongside locality based Social Workers and support staff to provide additional support to children and young people and their families to prevent accommodation and support maintain family care. This area of our service includes Community Alternatives, working mainly with older children and their families and carers; Families First, working with younger children; Youth Bridges supporting young people in conflict with the law with reintegration from prison/secure care to the community; the Aftercare Hub supporting care experienced young people and care leavers (see 2.4.2 above); and Family Group Decision Making / Lifelong Links supporting individuals and families to strengthen important relationships and their natural support networks. Page 40 of 138
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30 Services operate over seven days, providing intensive (sometimes daily) support on an individual, family and groupwork basis, working with between 450 and 500 individual children at any one time over the year. Between April 2024 and March 2025, the service concluded intervention with 360 children and young people (including those involved with Youth Bridges) with the graph below illustrating the range of issues experienced for these children and their families. (Other – physical and emotional health, housing, life story work, relationships, aftercare) At the conclusion of interventions initial outcomes were assessed as being achieved in full for 66% of children and their families and partially for 15%. In large part, this meant keeping children within the parents or extended family and avoiding the financial and human costs of care out with the family. Further analysis of the 12% of children and families whose outcomes were not considered to have been met is taking place to inform learning and future planning. Our Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) service supports and empowers families build on family assets to sustain family care and has supported 107 families referred during this year. Desired outcomes, identified with families, were to prevent accommodation, support rehabilitation, maximise pre-birth supports, mediate and agree a family contact plan or to mobilise family support. Over the same period 85 families have been supported to agree a plan, concluding through a Family Group Decision Making Meeting or with this being scheduled whilst 22 families have completed a significant piece of work, whereby a plan has been achieved without the requirement for a formal meeting. There were 30 families referred to the service where work did not progress due to a change in the child’s plan, withdrawal of consent or non- engagement. Page 41 of 138
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31 Lifelong Links engaged in new work with 15 young people during April 2024 – March 2025 with an average age of 19 Years. This work is long-term requiring patience and reliability to build a trusting relationship to work with young people in a trauma informed way. All young people who received support have sought an understanding of their care journey having key questions, such as information on their birth family, their experiences, why they became care experienced, or on specific decisions and events in their life, often requiring time to reflect and understand their care journey, in addition to considering who they want to connect or re-connect with and who they want to have as part of their ongoing support network. Of the young people who chase to make connections/reconnect with significant people, 16 young people were supported to make direct contact and 4 made non-direct contact, with plans to sustain contact moving forward. The most connections a young person was supported to make was 13 people and another young person contacted 10 people, with the average being three people. These connections were from a wide range of family members and professionals from their childhood network of support. In September 2024, the FGDM and Lifelong Links Team successfully gained full accreditation from the Family Right Group (FRG), a long-established national organisation with a clear focus on the welfare and family justice, supporting children to live safely and thrive within their family. The Intensive Services Summer Programme targeted 47 families of children under 12 and 30 young people (12-18) where there was a risk of children coming into care recognising the additional pressures of this period for families. The Families First summer activities focused on whole family activities to encourage play and learning as well as building resilience in the children and confidence in the parents. This included Messy play, Tye-Dye Day, Making Music Day, and Canvas painting and finished off with a ‘Grand finale’ fun day and Strathclyde Park. The Families First Newsletter highlights some of the fun had by all involved. 2.4.5 YOUNG PEOPLE IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW Early and Effective Intervention Over the year 115 young people were referred for Early and Effective Intervention (EEI) which seeks to divert young people who have become involved in offending away from statutory measures through tailored early support. Of these, social work led the planning and support for 49 young people whilst the named person/pupil support staff in school were responsible for the Page 42 of 138
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32 other 65 young people through the planning for children’s wellbeing process within the GIRFEC pathway. To support continuous improvement we evaluated work with 19 of the young people involved with social work finding that workers felt confident using their relationship with the young person to understand their context and good examples of collaborative working with education and youth work to improve the wellbeing of young people and reducing further conflict with the law. The evaluation also, however, highlighted a need to ensure there is a greater focus on wider needs and that the voice of the young people is clear within the plan for them. In January 2024, we launched the Compass Project to offer a youth work approach to young people referred for EEI using asset-based approaches to empower young people to identify their own needs and strengths. 77 young people have been involved with the Compass Project to date with around 300 group sessions and 130 individual sessions delivered. Ten mainstream secondary schools and the We Aspire Colleges have taken part in EEI/Preventative group work programmes, with 14 young people having the opportunity to take part in two blocks of Fire Skills at Fire Reach with a 95% pass rate for the participants. Youth Bridges Youth Bridges provides intensive, individualised support to young people aged 16-21 who have either been remanded within HMPYOI Polmont or are serving custodial sentences. The focus of this support is the immediate assessment and information sharing for young people upon their arrival to custody, ensuring their wellbeing whilst within custody and supporting in their rehabilitation back to the community, and beyond, aiming to prevent further contact with the adult justice system. Following the implementation of the new Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024, all young people aged 16-17 who are remanded or sentenced to custodial sentences at court are now placed within secure care accommodation. The role of Youth Bridges is therefore developing alongside these legislative changes and assisting in the support of 16-17 years olds placed within secure care accommodation, supporting, where required, subsequent transitions to HMPYOI Polmont. Youth Bridges staff also carry out Diversion from Prosecution assessments and intervention as part of the wider Intensive Services team to help divert young people out of the adult justice system through early intervention. In the period April 2024–March 2025, Youth Bridges staff undertook 23 Diversion from Prosecution assessments of which 19 were completed successfully in diverting the young people involved from the criminal justice system. During the same period, there were 26 young people remanded or sentenced to custody within HMPYOI Polmont who were supported by the Youth Bridges Service. Furthermore, following the changes within the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 outlined above, two young people were supported within secure care accommodation following being remanded at court. With this support both young people made a successful transition to the community, including work/training and avoided further conflict with the law. Page 43 of 138
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33 Peer Mentors With CORRA funding, the service established a peer mentoring scheme, following consultation with young people who had been in conflict with the law. The aim of the service was for care experienced peer mentors to work closely with young people and offer flexible support whilst being supported in their roles to work out their own pathways for future careers. This has been a real journey for all the mentors with exceptional emotional and personal growth noted. The peer mentors have co-produced this service, including all processes and how the service is delivered. Initially the peer mentors focussed on providing 1:1 mentoring for young people in conflict with the law, but as time and learning has developed the service is now more geared towards flexible group work in the community and within schools; working closely with young people to develop their confidence as this is what our young people requested when working with the mentors. The peer mentors have also worked with the Compass Project. To support their own development peer mentors have worked closely with CLD colleagues completing a range of SQA accredited courses and First Steps to Youth Work whilst also supported by workers from our After Care Hub in relation to their own specific needs. All the peer mentors now have clear pathway in terms of the next steps for the own career. 2.4.6 CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS (ASN) Following an increase in demand for ASN related support and rising levels of children in education with additional support needs, mapping work was undertaken both within the children and families service and across the partnership, to scope the landscape of support for families. It was identified that there is a wealth of strategy, support, expertise, and resources in this area, both within Social Work and across all partners; however, the connectivity and integration of support could be improved to take account of need. Mapping identified a need for specific community based, intensive early intervention approaches focusing on ASN, particularly where needs are complex, to complement the support already available. Whole Family Funding has therefore been used to enhance support for children affected by neurodiversity and to provide support to families of children attending ASN schools. An ASN Children with Disabilities Oversight group was established to connect developments in ASN, to take forward a response to gaps identified, to review these regularly and to provide a coordinated and timely response. 2.5 ADULT SOCIAL WORK SERVICES Over the past year within Adult Health & Social Care Services, we have been working on the development of an enabling approach which supports the move from our work on back-to- basics to getting it right for everyone, as we recognise the landscape of health and social care is changing and services, supports and responses need to change to continue to improve the lives Page 44 of 138
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34 of people we support. We have sought to adopt a human learning approach by trying different ways to focus more on people and less on systems and processes, using resources to their best effect to make the most positive impact on peoples’ lives. Through the learning as management strategy (also known as Human Learning System), we have been working with academic and national partners including Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Centre for Public Impact to make learning and experimentation a key driver in our work. A key element of the learning approach has been the development of a Whole System Enabling Approach strongly embedded within each of the six localities, which supports a place-based model. Overarching this work has been our aim to ensure that when people contact our services Over the coming year we will further develop specific plans and service developments: as this is a whole system approach, we anticipate there will be a lot to focus on and much change across services, supports and responses that are needed to achieve and sustain change. 2.6 EARLY AND PREVENTATIVE INTERVENTIONS – RIGHT SUPPORT, RIGHT TIME 2.6.1 GETTING IT RIGHT FOR EVERYONE (GIRFE) the response is quick and effective, with a focus on helping people to help themselves first. Our approach is to work to principles, rather than rules that continue to support people to thrive by providing targeted services that are tailored to reflect their diverse needs. Keeping people central to the decisions that affect them is key and has helped us plan actions that support positive outcomes for those who access our services. Page 45 of 138
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35 Getting It Right for Everyone is a Scottish Government led, multi-agency approach to Health and Social Care support and services. Building on existing best practice, it is aligned with the Getting It Right for Every Child approach within children’s services. The Getting It Right for Everyone approach was developed in North Lanarkshire and across 8 other Health and Social Care Partnership areas across Scotland following a process of co-design with people who use services, carers, professionals, and those who may use services in future. The co-design process established that many people accessing Health and Social Care were frustrated by: • having to tell their story multiple times • information that is too complex • multiple appointments with different people The Getting It Right for Everyone approach aims to ensure that: • it is easier for people to get the help they need • people are at the centre of decision making • everyone works together to provide consistent support, no matter what kind of help is needed at different times in a person's life Getting It Right for Everyone is focused on providing a more personalised way to access help and support at the time when people need it. It has clear principles in place to guide the Health and Social Care workforce and confirm the service and outcomes people in North Lanarkshire should expect to receive. The Getting It Right for Everyone principles developed for all professionals to use are: • I have the information I need to make decisions about my life, in a way that works for me, and I am supported to understand what options are available to me, and trusted to know what is right for me • the people who support me take the time to listen and understand me as a person and we consider my whole life when making decisions about my life • I know that I can be clear about what matters to me, and I trust that my choices will be respected and understood by the people who support me • if I need to access services or support, I am treated with kindness, dignity, and respect at all times. • the people I am involved with work together with me and each other to share information, in a way that is accessible to me and develop a clear understanding of how to support my wellbeing The Scottish Government have recently made a Getting It Right for Everyone tool kit available online and within North Lanarkshire, the Getting It Right for Everyone Programme Board will ensure that Getting It Right for Everyone is embedded into all work in Health and Social Care. Page 46 of 138
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36 2.6.2 MAKING LIFE EASIER (MLE) The Making Life Easier and Disability Information Team is a small team with one Resource Worker and two Disability Information Officers providing a comprehensive information, advice, and support service for people with disabilities, their family, friends, and carers. Making Life Easier (MLE), our online resource, offers all North Lanarkshire residents the tools to support people to live active and healthy lives, self-manage their health conditions. MLE also provides pathways to direct supports and services if required. The team have had a successful year, actively promoting Making Life Easier by attending over 70 2.6.3 ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TEAM Over the past year, the assistive technology team has firmly embedded itself in every stage of care planning. An ongoing presence in the new enabling approach meetings and the consistent prompts integrated into MOSAIC, our new social work database encourages staff to "think tech first", thus ensuring technology is considered as a means of achieving positive outcomes. Our focus remains on reducing carer stress, empowering individuals, supporting independence, and reducing social isolation. Additionally, we continue to collaborate with other services to help alleviate their increasing pressures and demands. events, working with our partners and local organisations whilst in 2024-25, 15,396 people in North Lanarkshire used MLE, an 89% increase on the previous year with 490 people completing a self-assessment and a further 170 people completed a LifeCurve™ assessment. Making Life Easier will be refreshed in the coming year in line with the hub operating model and supporting localities with their multi-disciplinary enabling approach. Page 47 of 138
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37 The last year has seen a strong emphasis on integrating assistive technology into the MLE self- assessment platform. Additionally, work is progressing on the "No Need to Fall" project, funded by the Tech for Better Care programme. This initiative, in collaboration with Scotland's Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre and NHS Lanarkshire, aims to develop a technology-enabled approach to relational and proactive falls prevention. A new test of change is currently also in progress for younger adults transitioning from school to post-education placements. This I initiative arose from the realisation that our previous test of change, which focused on Komp, was not likely to benefit this age group. It highlighted the need to implement technology which supports cognitive function that will ensure that individuals of all ages can benefit from the team's input and support. The team are also immensely proud of their recent shortlisting for a Local Government Chronicle award for best medium sized team. Across 2024/2025, 1,364 people were referred to the team. Most of the referrals continued to be for older adults, with 40% of people accessing the service being over 80 years of age and 40% between 61-80. Referrals resulted in 988 assessments of need, informing the allocation of council provided technology, and/or self-purchase items. 2.6.4 COMMUNITY ALARMS AND ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL The Community Alarm Service (CAS) supports vulnerable individuals to remain safely in their own homes using discrete and unobtrusive technology and working closely with the Technology Team. The service gives both the person accessing the service, and their family, reassurance that help is always available if required. The service operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and supporting people living within their own homes across North Lanarkshire. Whilst a community alarm most commonly consists of a standard alarm base unit and pendant alarm, dependent upon the person’s level of need, 39% 0-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100 41% 12% 5% 3% Age Range of Referrals 2024-2025 Referrals by Month 2024- 2025 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 118 131 112 114 136 130 121 117 129 85 94 77 Page 48 of 138
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38 additional devices such as bed or epilepsy sensors, fall detectors and GPS devices can be used to ensure any safety concerns are satisfied. The Community Alarm Service provides a full call monitoring service assessing each contact and to establish what the issue is. Responses can include dispatching a home support worker, contacting family/friends to respond, or contacting emergency services. On average, the response teams attend more than 460 uninjured fall visits each month. This is of significant benefit to the Scottish Ambulance Service and the individual, as it minimises the time someone waits for assistance while easing resource requirements for ambulance staff to attend quickly. The service is currently undergoing a significant transition to a digital model as the UK moves toward digital telecommunication systems. Within the coming months the service will transition from its current Analogue Alarm Receiving Centre to a New Digital Alarm Receiving Centre, in partnership with other councils and organisations across Scotland. The service received positive feedback from its previous inspection and is graded as good and very good across all areas of inspection activity. Activity: As of 31 March 2024, Community Alarm Service supported approximately 7,700 people with 6,150 individuals supported in individual homes and a further 1,550 people in housing with support. The community alarm service also supports around 1,000 pieces of assistive technology equipment, programmed through the alarm receiving centre, with equipment ranging from door contacts to hard-wired smoke detectors for individuals with a cognitive impairment. Response Advisors also provide support to out-of-hours Home Support and takes Social Work emergency service calls from 01.30am. The average call volume each month received within Community Alarm is around 48,000 with around 2,180 of these leading to a visit from a Community Alarm Home Support worker (HSW) for face-to-face support to be provided. The replacement of analogue alarms commenced in January 2023. To date, 6,600 units have been procured, with 3,000 units installed. This rollout is being carried out with the support of staff from the Equipment and Adaptation Service and the Assistive Technology Team, with completion targeted for the end of 2025. Staffing levels within the Community Alarm service have remained unchanged since the service was established and a priority over the next period is to review this in the light of both digital system developments, high call levels and the diversity of needs supported by the service. 2.6.5 EQUIPMENT AND ADAPTATION SERVICE (EAS) The equipment and adaptation service has gone through a transformational change with the implementation of Elms 2, the new online ordering system. There have also been internal process changes to enable and improve the service whilst the quantitative data that the service can now collate allows for more accurate reporting. The service uses a prioritisation framework to enable Page 49 of 138
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39 resources to get to the right people at the right time. This helps with prioritising equipment and adaptations based on the person's functional needs. With these fundamentals in place a wider service redesign is being progressed building on feedback from staff and service users. 2.6.6 SOCIAL WORK TRANSITION TEAM We have seen an incremental increase in the number of school leavers with a range of additional support needs being referred for enhanced Transition planning. As of 31 March 2025, we had 235 summer leavers actively working with the Social Work Transition Team, a 26% increase on last year’s number of 186 school leavers. 2025 School Leavers 18% - Have been assessed as requiring an individual budget and support package 30 % - Require lower level supports from Locality Support Services 52 % - Have been supported throughout transition process and assessed as not requiring ongoing Social Work supports or signposted to universal services There has been a change in complexity of need, resulting in an increase in numbers of young people with life limiting conditions. We have also seen an increase in requests for support with Mental Health. Development Work • As referenced in 2.6.3 above work continues alongside the Assistive Technology team to explore solutions to enhance confidence, independence and potentially eliminate the need for some elements of ongoing support. Tech will be trialled, within young people’s homes and within the college setting. • The team have been liaising with other neighbouring council services to explore provisions for young people with severe and complex physical health needs. Most young people in this cohort benefit from therapies to support mobility and sensory regulation. However, within North Lanarkshire there is an identified gap with families currently travelling to other local authority areas to access Hydrotherapy and Rebound therapy. 2.6.7 LOCALITY SUPPORT SERVICES (LSS) Enabling individuals with additional needs to live the lives they choose—independently, within their own homes and communities—remains a core priority for staff across the six Locality Support Services (LSS) within Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire. These services play a critical role in delivering longer-term reablement and rehabilitation, through consistent and skilled teams ensuring that individuals receive the right support, at the right time, Page 50 of 138
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40 and in the right way. Over time, LSS has evolved a highly effective model for delivering flexible, short- to medium-term support working with individuals in developing key life skills, including community engagement, independent travel, and daily living. While originally established to support people with learning disabilities, LSS now provides support to individuals with a broader range of needs, including sensory impairments, neurodiversity, physical disabilities, and addiction. This often results in a reduced or eliminated need for ongoing social work involvement. In September 2024, management of the LSS transitioned from an area-wide structure to a locality-based model. This shift has enabled localities to deploy resources more responsively in line with local needs. To maintain consistency and coherence in service delivery across North Lanarkshire, area-wide colleagues continue to play a key role in supporting the services. Regular cross-locality meetings are held to oversee the strategic direction, role, and remit of LSS across the partnership. CORE SERVICES: CONTNUING SUPPORT 2.6.8 INTEGRATED DAY SERVICES (IDS) FOR OLDER ADULTS: OVERVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT Integrated Day Services (IDS) for older adults continue to provide essential support for individuals with complex needs, enabling them to live safely in their own homes and often preventing hospital admissions. The service operates across all six localities in North Lanarkshire. During the COVID-19 pandemic, IDS nursing staff were redeployed to older adult community mental health teams in all, but one locality and this model persists. An ongoing service review will address key considerations such as the model of delivery, compliance with safer staffing legislation, transport, and facility requirements with the aim to establish a post-COVID service model that ensures enhanced support for older adults in North Lanarkshire, aligning with the objectives of the Dementia Strategy. Dependency levels and complexity of needs among individuals requiring IDS support have increased. IDS staff remain dedicated to providing comprehensive support, not only to service users but also to unpaid carers. Community outreach through IDS-organized groups also continues in all localities and enjoys strong attendance however transport and community venues can be a constraint. Locality Link Workers are actively collaborating with local partners to address and mitigate these barriers, ensuring accessibility to this alternative, low-level support. These community groups complement the core IDS services, which primarily cater to individuals at more advanced stages of their dementia journey. 2.6.9 HOME ASSESSMENT TEAM (HAT) Page 51 of 138
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41 The Home Assessment Team (HAT) has continued to have a positive impact. Over the last budget year 2024- 2025, HAT received 342 referrals for support, and of these referrals, following a two- week period of assessment, 158 people did not require any further service or support. Discharge planning at both University Hospital Monklands and University Hospital Wishaw has noted an improved picture. This has been supported by the Whole System Change with robust assessments being undertaken at the first point of contact. The aim is to ensure that all assessments are undertaken in people’s own homes, improving outcomes and supporting quicker recovery. More broadly the service remains committed to finalising implementation of the operating model initially approved by IJB in 2018m the Home First approach, which will focus on supporting people through multidisciplinary intervention to be assessed and supported at home, avoiding unnecessary admissions and helping people home from hospital at the earliest opportunity. The Home Support Service will be integral to this approach by facilitating discharges and assessing people at home rather than in hospital. Assessing people in their home environment is more effective in understanding what is needed to help people live within their local communities. Following a period of assessment at home, it may be necessary to provide further support through reablement. The service has been focusing on restoring a fully functioning Reablement Service whilst promoting the use of assistive technology. This will further support the ambition to ensure that people receive support and care which aids recovery and maximises independence in their own homes, thereby reducing the reliance on long term Home Support services and ensure service capacity in the wider service can be focused on those with longer-term needs, The service is also making the changes required to be more responsive and flexible, in line with Self- directed Support, and moving away from time and task to outcome focused service delivery. 2.6.10 HOME SUPPORT SERVICE – LIVING WELL AT HOME Over the last budget year, the service received 3,800 requests for assistance from people not previously known to the service. The number of care hours delivered has risen steadily since the pandemic and remains significantly higher than the hours delivered pre-covid. The service currently supports 2,235 individuals. Data gathered and used to inform planning highlights the significant growth in multi-worker visits whereby 33.5% of all visits require two or more workers to support service users. Despite the increase in the hours provided, the number of service users has fallen in the corresponding period reflecting that those supported present with more complex health and social care needs. As of the end of year there are 1045 Home support workers employed by the service, 977 female and 68 male. 270 of these workers are aged over 60. The service has a rolling recruitment programme to fill vacancies as turnover has been higher due to workers leaving the service through retirals, ill health and other factors. Page 52 of 138
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42 The service continues to work closely with the Care Inspectorate to meet requirements and make improvements which have been identified through the inspection process. Challenges related to staffing have previously impacted on direct delivery and inspection gradings, however, the service is starting to see an improving picture with grades of 3s, 4s, and 5s in all localities. A key aspect of service efficiency and improvement is the implementation of a dynamic scheduling tool to benefit Home Support Workers in the community and for those who schedule and plan work. It is an essential development to aid back-office staff in scheduling support and to adapt quickly to changing needs efficiently and effectively. There is a detailed roll out plan for the implementation of the new system which commenced with the Bellshill Home Support Team in March 2025. It is anticipated that the system will be operational across all teams by August 2025. To ensure efficiencies are realised, frontline worker shift patterns have also been reviewed as worker availability does not always match demand for service delivery. The Self-Directed Support (SDS) Transformation Agenda in North Lanarkshire aims to support and empower people living in North Lanarkshire to lead full and meaningful lives by achieving outcomes, whilst being connected to the people and things that are important to them. As we progress on this agenda, we continue to involve a diverse range of leaders and stakeholders from across our whole system, partner agencies, and third sector organisations in the development of an SDS implementation plan. Over the past 12 months, we have commenced a self-evaluation in relation to the national SDS Framework of standards to consider how well we are implementing this and what the impact of this is on people. We will continue to engage with people with lived and living experience, their carers and those around them, to understand in more detail the impact we have on people's lives and to inform both an improvement plan and our implementation plan. In line with the implementation of Getting it Right for Everyone and our new information management system, a new Guided Self-Assessment (GSA) was developed - to reflect unmet need and risk, using a whole system and strength-based approach, ensuring a fair and equitable resource allocation. This is a key feature of enhanced local autonomy and accountability and ensuring that decisions are made closest to people. The vision is that one Guided Self- Assessment for adults will align with the principles of one assessment and one review. We have also worked in partnership with ILF Scotland following the re-opening of the fund in April 2024. Through this collaboration and proactive work across locality teams, we have enabled 113 people living in North Lanarkshire to access additional funding which will contribute towards achieving their identified outcomes. Our engagement and approach to using this funding for people living across our communities has been lauded by the ILF. 2.6.11 TRANSFORMATIONAL SELF-DIRECTED SUPPORT (SDS) AGENDA AND INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS Page 53 of 138
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43 Activity: In 2024/2025 we supported 2,971 people with an individual budget, delivered across the four options as shown with a financial resource of £106.7M. This includes NHSL contributions of £2.2 million and ILF contributions of £4.1 million. The breakdown across the four options is set out below: • Option 1 – Direct payment – 395 • Option 2 – Budget managed by support provider – 2,371 • Option 3 – Budget managed by local authority - 185 • Option 4 – Budget managed by a mixture of first three options – 20 The focus for the year ahead is to complete the self-evaluation and develop our implementation plan. 2.6.12 COMMUNITY LIVING CHANGE FUND/COMING HOME The Coming Home team, established in 2023 and funded through the Scottish Government’s Community Change Fund, has been central to identifying and supporting individuals who have experienced prolonged and unnecessary hospital stays or out-of-area placements. In partnership with NHS Lanarkshire and advocacy colleagues, the team has successfully implemented Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire’s Dynamic Support Register (DSR), in line with national policy direction. Although the Community Change Fund concluded in March 2025, the work continues through the Multidisciplinary Complex Care Review Group and the Coming Home Implementation Group. These structures remain focused on reducing the need for individuals to leave North Lanarkshire for care or treatment. The Area-Wide Adult Team continues to collaborate closely with allocated social workers for all individuals recorded on the DSR, with a particular focus on those categorised as Red or Amber. Progress is actively monitored through bi-weekly prompts, ensuring timely updates and accurate case recording. In parallel, work is progressing to identify bespoke housing solutions for individuals with complex needs. Strengthened collaboration with housing colleagues supports the early identification of specialist housing requirements, enabling these to be incorporated into local planning and development frameworks. Provider engagement also remains a strategic priority to ensure the availability of appropriate and sustainable care options. A key element of the programme is the prevention of hospital admissions through early identification of individuals at risk of support breakdown. Work is underway to develop a more detailed understanding of this at-risk population, with the aim of ensuring individuals remain safe, well-supported, and able to live within their communities. To strengthen oversight and resource alignment, plans are in place to extend the remit of financial governance meetings to include DSR monitoring. Page 54 of 138
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44 With the conclusion of the Change Fund and no further funding anticipated, the focus has now shifted to embedding and sustaining this work within existing structures and resources. The overarching objective remains to deliver on the core ambitions of the Coming Home agenda, ensuring that individuals with complex needs are supported to live in the right place, with the right support, at the right time. 2.7 DIGITAL SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION During 2024-25, there has been significant progress and investment in digital solutions to support the management of social work and social care services. In addition to developments in Assistive Technology and those linked to the Community Alarm Service reference above these have included: Mosaic Case Management System As part of the North Lanarkshire Council’s Digital NL programme of work and Digital and IT Strategy 2019-24, the council carried out a cloud readiness assessment to determine which line of business system would be suitable for transitioning to a range of cloud-based solutions. This reinforced existing service concerns around the functionality of our SWIS case management system and led to a tender for a new system. Mosaic, the new Social Care Case management system, will be used across all social work services and the tackling poverty team presenting significant opportunities to improve worker access to relevant information, provide a single source for data on the people we support, improve data analytics and reporting to inform service improvement, and better opportunities for data sharing across the partnership. Reflecting the scale of work required to safely and effectively support this transition the development and implementation of Mosaic is supported by a project team, which has led the design and configuration of the systems throughout 2025-25. Work has progressed with teams from across all care groups and the wider system to configure the system to reflect our streamlined processes and workflows. Training for staff commenced in early 2025, with a range of online and in-person training available to staff and tailored to their roles. Focus throughout 2024-25 has been on preparing for the go live of the new system and assessing and testing the system and staff’s readiness for a significant change in working practice. At the time of writing, we are on track for our new system to go live in the early part of 2025-26 (June 2025). Dynamic Scheduling System for Care at Home Services (CM 2000) As reflected above, the Home Support Service is currently engaged in a service redesign exercise and within the context of the wider redesign activity, has procured a digital solution to ensure staff capacity is optimally utilised supporting the provision of over 6,000 visits per day by the approximately 750 home support workers on shift daily and importantly also supporting Page 55 of 138
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45 improvement in continuity of service and the matching of the right staff with the right skills to people at the right time, essential to the provision of quality care and services. ELMS 2 – Equipment Management System (Integrated Equipment & Adaptation Service) The Integrated Equipment & Adaptation Service has for many years used a software platform which is no longer supported. During 2024-25, a newly procured software solution, ELMS 2, has been implemented to better support service requirements including: • Direct ordering and tracking of orders technology providing delivery routes and times • Linking directly to the stock control process • Use on handheld devices reducing the reliance on printed paperwork and providing real- time delivery information to the prescribers and route management • Improved monitoring of equipment due for review and maintenance • Direct access to equipment catalogues stock levels and service users equipment history ELMS 2 also offers interoperability and integration with Mosaic Implementing these systems presents not just a shift from legacy systems, some of which are end of life, but also a cultural shift in using digital platforms which allow the service to function differently. The ability to access and generate accurate and real time information to support practitioners, the ability for supported people to access their own data and the enhanced data quality and integration offered by these products will continue to support the service across a range of settings. 3.1 MENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS SERVICE AND ADULTS WITH INCAPACITY ACT (SCOTLAND) 2000 The Mental Health Officer (MHO) Service continued to experience significant demand in relation to interventions under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (AWI) across the year. Whilst there appeared to have been a drop in Local Authority applications – likely owing to orders previously being sought as part of Large-Scale Investigation related activity - there was an increase in the number of new requests being made from ‘Private’ Solicitors which placed pressure on the service. The reasons for this increase are unclear, although demographics of an ageing population are likely to be one contributing factor. Figure 1 – Details number of Guardianship Orders & Intervention orders across the 6 Locality areas of North Lanarkshire. 3. STATUTORY INTERVENTIONS Page 56 of 138
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46 AWI Orders by Locality 2024-25 250 218 200 150 133 136 114 101 100 81 57 50 32 37 42 26 29 5 6 3 4 11 7 0 Airdrie Coatbridge Cumbernauld Bellshill Motherwell Wishaw L.A. Guardianship Private Guardianship Intervention Orders Figure 1 above illustrates the spread of orders under AWI across the 6 Localities. There has been a very modest reduction in the total number of active Guardianship Orders – both ‘Local Authority’ and ‘private’ orders - in place for individuals’ resident in North Lanarkshire, falling very slightly from 1,008 to 1,006. Of the 1,006 current orders, 783 (77.8%) are ‘private’ orders and 223 (22.2%) are ‘Local Authority’ orders where the CSWO is the appointed Guardian. Figure 2 – Outlines the number of new and renewed orders in 2024-25 by Locality. The total number of new and renewed Guardianship Orders granted in 2023-24 was 340 and in 2024-25, this total was 382 a 10% increase on the previous year. Figure 3 below shows the increase in new AWI requests from 2021-22 to 2024-25. This is a 195.6% increase over the past 4 years. 90 80 70 60 New Orders by Locality 2024-25 83 50 40 30 20 10 0 39 44 24 30 21 25 24 12 6 11 5 15 8 3 12 8 7 Airdrie Bellshill Private Coatbridge Cumbernauld Motherwell Wishaw Local Auth. Intervention Order Page 57 of 138
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47 New AWI requests 2021-22 to 2024-25 2021-22 135 2022-23 223 2023-24 362 2024-25 399 Figure 3 – Compares new AWI requests made over a 4-year period. The statistics are indicative of a general upward trend in AWI requests. This trend is also reflected in Scotland-wide statistics where in 2014-15 there were 9,333 Guardianship Orders and by 2023- 24 a total of 19,078 – a 104.4% increase nationally (Mental Welfare Commission, 2024). This increased demand in relation to Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 will inevitably cause further pressures on an already strained MHO resource. These pressures leave the MHO service in a position where AWI applications which are deemed as less urgent being required to await MHO allocation for periods significantly longer than the statutory timeframe of 21 days, within which, following request from a ‘private’ Solicitor, the Local Authority has a legal duty to provide a MHO report creating a level of organisational vulnerability and concern from families despite a proactive approach to management of this pressure. In cases where powers under AWI are required to facilitate discharge from hospital, Sessional MHOs are generally allocated prior to a formal request being received in order that preliminary MHO work can be undertaken. This is in accordance with recommendations made by the Scottish Government in its ‘Authority to Discharge’ report in 2021. The past year has seen an increasing number of civil detentions under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 within North Lanarkshire. Whilst there has been a 28.6% decrease in the use of Emergency Detention Certificates (EDC) with MHO consent over the past year there has been a 72.3% increase in the use of EDC without MHO consent. The latter is a concerning trend which both NHS Lanarkshire and the Mental Welfare Commission are monitoring. Notably there has been significant increase of 34% in the number of Short-Term Detention Certificates (STDC) and, in turn, a 26.3% increase in Compulsory Treatment Orders (CTOs) over the same period. The past year has also seen a further 10% increase in ‘forensic’ requests for 3.2 MENTAL HEALTH (CARE AND TREATMENT) ACT 2003 AND MENTAL HEALTH (SCOTLAND ACT 2015) Page 58 of 138
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48 MHO input although the total number of Compulsion Orders (CO) and Compulsion Order with Restriction Orders (CORO) requiring MHO allocation has seen no change. Overall is apparent that there has been significant increase in demand placed upon the MHO Service in relation to measures under the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Criminal Procedure (Scotland)(Act) 1995. Compulsory measures used under Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. Total Emergency Detention consents [203] 145 28.6% decrease Total Emergency Detentions where no consent was sought [47] 81 72.3% increase Consent refused by MHO – Emergency Detentions [0] 0 No change Total Short Term Detentions consents [258] 346 34.0% increase Consent refused by MHO – Short Term Detentions [6] 6 No change Total Compulsory Treatment Orders [186] 235 26.3% increase Total Forensic Report requests [30] 33 10% increase Total Forensic orders supervised (CORO/CO) * [29] 29 No change 2023-24 data highlighted in red *Compulsion Order with Restriction Order/Compulsion Order 3.3 DEVELOPMENT OF MHO SERVICE TO MEET NEEDS During Summer 2023, an agreement was reached to move back toward a ‘Locality Model’ structure within the MHO Service aligned to the 6 Social Work Localities. Strategy Meetings have been held on a 6-weekly basis over the past 12 months to support the transition. Feedback has been largely positive, particularly in terms of re-establishing and strengthening links with Social Work and Community Mental Health Teams already operating within Localities. Since 2023, North Lanarkshire Council has enrolled 5 Social Workers to the Postgraduate Certificate in Social Work for Mental Health as external recruitment of MHO’s remains a challenge due to national shortages of qualified MHOs. The MHO Service is supported by x 6 Sessional MHO’s, whose work primarily consists of cases where intervention(s) under Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 is required to enable lawful discharge from hospital to nursing home placements. This has had a positive impact on reducing delays in discharging patients from hospital, although other aspects of the legal process out with the control of the MHO service does remain a barrier to further progress in this area. Page 59 of 138
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49 140 118 99 108 92 71 69 77 64 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 NLC has played an active part in consultation processes relating to this area of practice with notable consultations to proposals for overhauling incapacity law in Scotland; responses in terms of the use of and review of AWI; use of community-based measures under Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and policy developments by Social Security Scotland. 3.4 APPROPRIATE ADULT SERVICES Within the reporting period, there were 64 referrals for the Appropriate Adult service, demonstrating a decrease of 16.8% (-13 referrals). There has been an identified trend of decreasing referral numbers both nationally and locally; noting an approximate decline of 50% in referral numbers since 2015 (see chart below). Concern that this may not reflect true need remains on the National Agenda, within Scottish Appropriate Adult Network (SAAN), and is being actively discussed at the Appropriate Adult National Oversight Group. Within North Lanarkshire, this has been discussed with Police Scotland, who have recirculated AA guidance within the Lanarkshire Division. At national level, the Appropriate Adult Guidance for Local Authorities is being reviewed by COSLA, and any update will be shared in due course. Annual AA Requests – North Lanarkshire NLC 4790 4600 3987 3474 2807 2865 2393 2334 2199 2488 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 SAAN Annual AA Requests - Scotland Page 60 of 138
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50 Within North Lanarkshire Council, there are 39 employees who are trained Appropriate Adults (AA). 14 of the 39 undertake the AA role within Social Work Emergency Services (SWES) and 26 undertake their role as AA as part of the in-hours duty rota. Refresher training is available for AAs to attend every 6 months with uptake monitored. Discussions are taking place with SWES in relation to all SWES staff being trained to meet the demand of the Out of Hours AA service. 3.5 PUBLIC PROTECTION For the reporting period there were a total of 2916 ASP referrals to North Lanarkshire Social Work services. This represents a 12% decrease in referrals in comparison to 2023/24 (3, 314). For 2024-25, the primary source of ASP referrals was colleagues from NHSL (including the Scottish Ambulance Service, with a total of 772 referrals). This marks a shift from the previous five years, where care homes were the main referrers. Due to collaborative efforts with care homes and key stakeholders to both address risks and ensure appropriateness and consistency in referral practice, referrals from this sector have steadily decreased, to 644 for the period, a 42% drop from the 1,124 referrals in 2023/24. In addition, there have been smaller declines in referral numbers from other public sector partners: - compared to 23/24; internal Social Work referrals dropped 11% (from 400 to 356). Police Scotland referrals dropped 2% (from 410 to 403) and Scottish Fire and Rescue referrals fell 2% (from 116 to 114). Whilst Police ASP referrals have slightly decreased, Police ‘Adult Concern reports’ remain stable at a high level with a total of 4,294 Police ‘Adult Concern’ Reports received during the period, an 3.5.1 ADULT SUPPORT AND PROTECTION INVESTIGATIONS/CASE CONFERENCES AND STATUTORY ORDERS/FUNCTIONS ASP referral source 3500 3000 3314 2916 2500 2000 1500 1123 1000 772 646 644 500 400356 410403 116114 0 Social Work Fire and Rescue Police Scotland NHS/L Care Homes Total ASP referrals 2023-24 2024-25 Page 61 of 138
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51 increase of 14 on last year. Taken together the number of ASP referrals and Police Adult Concern reports reflect the significant activity undertaken to keep adults in our communities safe. Physical harm remains the most common harm type referral with 1,137 referrals received, an absolute and proportionate decrease compared with last year (1,594 referrals) which can be linked to the decrease in referrals from the care home sector, where a number of referrals from care homes related to witnesses/unwitnessed falls. Practitioners within the care home sector have recognised that not every fall should result in an ASP referral, with good practice evident in some care homes supported by robust recording and defensible decision making. Cases featuring self-neglect can be some of the most difficult and complex for practitioners to manage as they often span ethical, legal, and practical considerations. For the period, there were 335 ASP referrals relating to self-neglect, an 8% increase in comparison to the previous year. Supporting good practice in these circumstances is a priority and a new self-neglect and hoarding toolkit has been made available for practitioners working with this harm type, there remains a specific focus on defensible decision making and professional curiosity in this area. ASP Inquiry with investigatory activity April 2025 marks one year since NLC’s revised ASP Policy and Procedures were implemented. It was anticipated that inquiries involving investigatory activities would increase, as the revised guidelines clarified the use of investigatory functions under the Act. Data indicates that this increase has indeed occurred. There were total of 872 inquiries with investigatory activity in the reporting period reflecting that 30% of all referrals moved to inquiry with investigatory activity. This is a significant and appropriate increase compared to last year when 15% (490) of referrals were recorded as having progressed to investigatory activity. This sits above the previous average conversion rate in Scotland from referral to inquiry with investigatory activity of 18%, however this is anticipated to increase when the Scottish Government publish its annual report for this period. ASP Case Conferences A total of 82 initial case conferences and 94 review case conference are recorded for the period an increase on the 77 initial case conferences and 88 review case conferences the previous year. Whilst this is considered positive, the overall conversion rate from investigatory activity to case conference has dropped compared to last year from 14% to 9% in part due to the sharp increase in the number of investigatory activities taking place. Ongoing monitoring and audit activity will ensure appropriate decision-making underpins changes in this rate. Statutory Order issues in 2024-25 Page 62 of 138
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52 Type of Protection Orders Number of Protection Orders Granted Assessment Order 0 Removal Order 0 Temporary Banning Order 0 Banning Order 0 Temporary Banning Order with Power of Arrest 4 Banning Order with Powers of Arrest 2 Total 6 The use of protection orders fell by one compared to last year (seven to six). It is recognised that where “adults at risk” are subject to protection planning measures, and a range of actions have been implemented to mitigate risk of harm, this can reduce the requirement for an ASP Protection Order. 3.5.2 MAPPA (MULTI-AGENCY PUBLIC PROTECTION ARRANGEMENTS) Justice Social Work continues to work within MAPPA arrangements to promote community safety and engage with people convicted of sexual offences and those considered to present a risk of serious harm, to maximise public protection, whilst maintaining a proportionate and individualised approach to risk and need. The number of individuals managed under MAPPA has continued to grow, in part, due to the rise in online offences contributing to increased demand pressures. Moving forward, demand will further increase through the inclusion of Terrorist Offenders within the MAPPA process. Preparatory work continues in this area to ensure that North Lanarkshire is well placed to manage relevant individuals effectively and safely. The increase in the number of individuals managed under the MAPPA process with no corresponding increase in resources continues to put pressure on the service. This is a situation which shows no signs of diminishing in the coming years. This reporting year has witnessed an 8.5% increase in MAPPA activity from the previous year. Overall, the number of individuals managed under MAPPA has grown significantly since arrangements were established 18 years ago. MAPPA arrangements interface often with other public protection processes including child and adult protection, and with adult Social Work more broadly, due to the increasing number of individuals managed through MAPPA who have care needs relating to frailty or disability. MAPPA awareness sessions for wider staff groups are therefore held regularly. More specific details of MAPPA related activity are published annually within the Lanarkshire MAPPA report. available on the council website. Page 63 of 138
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53 North Lanarkshire Justice Service continues to contribute to national discussion and preparation for the introduction of MAPPS an updated information sharing platform with key partners including Police Scotland. 3.5.3 CHILD PROTECTION INCLUDING CONTEXTUAL SAFEGUARDING A substantial increase in the number of notifications of child protection concerns was seen coming out of the COVID pandemic, but this number reduced by 16% over 24/25. While it is too early to draw firm conclusions, we think this reflects our additional investments in whole family support and strengthened integrated working across the partnership. Year Number of Referrals by Child Child Protection Assessments (Investigations) Percentage Of Referrals Proceeding to Assessment Number of Assessments That Proceeded to Child Protection Planning Meeting Number Of Registrations from Child Protection Planning Meeting 2024-25 1960 674 34% 201 153 2023-24 2326 768 33% 254 179 2022-23 1895 775 41% 264 198 2021-22 1714 754 44% 229 177 2020-21 1482 831 56% 261 199 Work has continued across the partnership to improve our GIRFEC planning to ensure that children’s needs were addressed collectively and ensure children were not unnecessarily referred into a child protection process. We also note that child poverty rates increased over this period and while this does not cause child protection concerns, it is, as the Promise sets out, a critical factor in increasing stress for families. Neglect (as shown below) continues to be the concern type most frequently recorded at child protection planning meetings Income maximisation and other tackling poverty measures remain critical to our work with families more broadly and all families whose children’s names are on the child protection register are supported Page 64 of 138
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54 to engage with our financial inclusion team where this is appropriate. and plans for children and young people at risk of harm along with the quality of engagement with some families. To this end, we have now trained all social workers as lead professionals in the Signs of Safety Healing model as referenced in 2.4 above. In recognition that protecting children is a partnership responsibility, partners from health, education and other services have also been trained. This is strengthening relationship-based practice in both child protection and our broader work with families. Contextual Safeguarding Over the past year we continued to work to tackle ongoing concerns regarding the exploitation of young people into criminal activity, most notably, over this period, involving the theft of high value alcohol to order. Addressing this issue has required coordinated activity across local authority boundaries as well as within the partnership as young people were being pulled towards Glasgow and particularly the city centre. Data from Glasgow indicated that between May 25 and Feb 25, 19% of the young people accused of crime in the city centre were from North Lanarkshire. Of the 21 young people discussed at our multi-agency Young Person’s Safeguarding Panel over this period, 17 were identified as the victims of criminal exploitation leading to young people coming into frequent conflict with the law (charges of theft and altercations with retailers) with the risk of subsequent measures such as exclusion orders and curfews further criminalising young people, as they struggle to comply with these. Within social work various strategies have been used to support the young people including group work, outreach to the city centre, joint work with other authorities, police and youth work colleagues and diversionary activity from intensive services, residential staff and social workers, In my previous report, we highlighted the need to improve consistency in the quality of reports Page 65 of 138
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55 including activities/time outside the area. Within the past year, three young people have had time in secure care linked to the risks around CCE. The case study below illustrates this work. Bairns Hoose The Bairns Hoose model promotes a child-centred, trauma-informed and multi-agency approach that supports children recover from abuse with roll out across Scotland a commitment made within the national programme for government. Whilst not a pathfinder area our pan-Lanarkshire partnership was awarded a Development Fund budget of £102,640.00 from Scottish Government to support planning and the development of a business case for a Lanarkshire Bairns Hoose. The model aims to • Minimise re-traumatisation of children • Improve access to specialised support services • Enhance the effectiveness of our justice system for young people • Foster faster recovery and healing for affected children and families and is designed with children's needs at the forefront by engaging with children, young people and their families who have experienced the child protection system. Page 66 of 138
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56 One of the core elements of this model, a trauma informed joint investigative interview model has operated successfully in Lanarkshire for the past five years. A Steering Group supported by a commissioned consultancy has over this period undertaken extensive planning and consultation work which will now underpin decisions on next steps to take forward the wider model in Lanarkshire. 3.5.4 GENDER BASED VIOLENCE The strategic vehicle for work to tackle gender based violence in North Lanarkshire is through the local VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls Structures) with social work staff playing a key role in both preventative and safeguarding activity including delivery of the UP2U programme referenced in section 2.3.4 above. MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferencing) Pan-Lanarkshire MARAC arrangements are a key mechanism to facilitate a joint approach from partners where incidents of domestic violence suggest a high future risk of harm and are now supported through a formal joint funding arrangement in place with Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire to support the management and co-ordination of MARAC in the area. The MARAC annual report 2024/ 2025 highlighted: • 77 MARAC locality meetings took place in the year • 500 referrals were received for North Lanarkshire • 87% of all referrals received were allocated to a MARAC meeting • 26% were repeat referrals • 98% of victims discussed were female There was a reduction of 113 referrals being received for MARAC in 2024/5 to 2023/4. This is considered likely to be due to Police Scotland Q Division bringing in a quality assurance process to ensure that appropriate referrals were progressed to MARAC. Safe and Together Safe and Together is an approach to working with families where domestic abuse is a concern. It aims to overcome the gender bias in parenting by holding to account the parent perpetrating domestic abuse (usually fathers) to the same high parenting standards as the parent being abused (usually mothers). Over the summer of 2024, the Improvement Service supported North Lanarkshire Safe and Together Steering Group to evaluate the impact of the roll-out of Safe and Together so far, with a particular focus on generating learning around what has supported practitioners to put the training into practice, what the challenges are and the impact that the Safe and Together is having for families experiencing domestic abuse who are coming into contact with social work and other services across North Lanarkshire. Page 67 of 138
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57 The findings of the report have been drawn from nine 1:1 interviews with Safe and Together trained Social Workers and one Children’s Reporter, two multi-agency focus groups and a small case file audit. The Improvement Service found there was clear and consistent evidence of increased understanding of and recognition of the impact of domestic abuse, and examples of domestic abuse informed practice by individual social workers and other practitioners. Key findings included: • Practitioners expressed feeling more confident engaging with parents who perpetrate domestic abuse, recognising their patterns of behaviour and the links to child wellbeing, the survivors’ safety and wellbeing and framing this as a parenting choice; • Practitioners also shared examples of increased positive engagement as a result of using the Safe and Together model in their work with families experiencing domestic abuse, and emphasised the strengths of the model in developing relationships of trust with survivors as well as supporting survivors to understand the full impact of perpetrators’ patterns of abuse on their lives and the lives of their children; • Practitioners also expressed that the commitment to the roll-out of Safe and Together across North Lanarkshire is supporting them to challenge practice not aligned with domestic-abuse informed systems, services, and workforce; • The support from the Safe and Together Co-ordinator was highlighted as key to embedding the training into their practice, and practitioners consistently noted the need for ongoing training and practice support to sustain and embed change. Funding, through the national Equally Safe fund has been made available to support on-going implementation of Safe and Together across North Lanarkshire until March 2026 with the position beyond this subject to wider national review. To support Social Work service delivery, North Lanarkshire Council had a gross expenditure budget of approximately £327m in the 2024-25 budget year (£310m Financial Year 2023/24). More specifically, this budget comprised Adult Social Care (c. £272m) and Children & Families and Justice (c. £55m) respectively. 4. RESOURCES Children, Families & Justice - Gross Expenditure Budget 2024-25 - £55.19m All Support Functions (£5.27m) CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (£31.54m) JUSTICE SERVICES (£9.34m) Children & Families A&P (£9.04m) Page 68 of 138
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58 In total, Social Work activity during the 2024-25 budget year was delivered within the overall budget resource allocations and resulted in an underspend position. Within Adult Social Care, the underspend position was predominantly the result of the non- recurring underspend relating to pension costs (reduced contribution rate to the Strathclyde Pension Fund), coupled with underspends due to vacancies. This underspend position was offset by overspends contained within the service including overtime within employee costs, transport costs, and Payments to Other Bodies. The overspend within 'Payments to Other Bodies' was related to cost pressures within the care-at-home sector as well as independent care home providers. The overall underspend across Children & Families and Justice consisted of an underspend within employee costs because of the non-recurring reduced pension rates (as above) as well as establishment of vacancies across various service delivery functions. In addition, following the receipt of an additional £1.162m Scottish Government funding in relation to the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA) in the 2024-25 budget year, an underspend within Family Placements (Payments to Other Bodies) occurred, which reflected the level of demand compared to overall resources currently available. Proposals are however being developed for further investment in this area to support address challenges in respect of carer support and foster care recruitment and retention as outlined in 2.4.3 above. Adult Social Care - Gross Expenditure Budget 2024/25 - £272.233m Support Functions (£19.588m) Self Directed Support (£107.431m) Mental Health & Adult Protection (£1.654m) Carers Support (£3.011m) Access Social Work (£1.108m) IEAS (£6.397m) Home Support (including Com Alarms) (£58.198m) Care Homes (£47.093m) Registered Social Landlords (£0.779m) Assistive Technology (£1.523m) Page 69 of 138
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59 4.1 FINANCIAL MODELLING FOR SERVICE DELIVERY Financial planning and monitoring continue to be key responsibilities for the Management Team. The Council’s Financial Strategy includes Service input into four key processes as follows: • Preparation of detailed single year budget • In–year budget monitoring and projections • Preparation of rolling three-year budgets • Preparation of a Medium-Term Financial Plan Alongside these processes, the Council’s Finance Team works closely with the IJB Chief Finance Officer to prepare a medium-term financial plan for the Health and Social Care Partnership. In terms of financial modelling, the Management Team increasingly takes a whole systems approach in delivering new and more efficient operating models which often requires joint working with other Council Services and key external partners. With respect to Children’s Services, the Council and local partnership is continuing to work with the national Promise Team on ‘Human and Economic Cost Modelling.’ This work is intended to support longer term change both nationally and locally, by identifying how resources are currently spent and what system changes are required to move the balance of spend toward early intervention and family support, in line with the aspirations of the Christie Report. ‘Investing in Prevention’ is a key strand of the Resilient People programme of work and a key focus within both adult and children’s services as a vehicle for cost avoidance as well as improving outcomes in the face of wider budget pressures, new legislative duties and growing demand. To this end as demonstrated throughout this report social work services are working creatively across service boundaries and in partnership with the community and voluntary sector. The reliance on multiple short-term, often ring-fenced funding streams to support innovation continues however to challenge capacity for more fundamental and sustainable change despite emerging evidence of positive impacts in areas such as family support. Workforce planning within Social Work is overseen by the Social Work Workforce Planning Group, which both informs and is informed by the Council’s corporate ‘Workforce for the Future Strategy’ and the wider UHSCPNL workplan. 5.1 WORKFORCE PLANNING Considering continued public sector savings requirements and unrelenting demands on local authorities and HSCPs, workforce planning has a crucial part to play to ensure current and future service demands are met. These pressures, coupled with recruitment challenges in areas such as the Home Care sector, can clearly also have an impact on current staff, enhancing the 5. WORKFORCE Page 70 of 138
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60 importance of staff welfare. Positively, both the council and HSCP have committed to the implementation of a Trauma Informed Workforce, and we maintain a strong range of HR policies and other supports which continue to support staff to work flexibly whilst recognising that despite digital developments effective social work and relationship-based practice continues to require significant levels of face-to-face contact reflected in limited percentage of fully hybrid roles within the service. 5.2 SOCIAL WORK RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION Enhanced whole career support and development, allied to the wider ambitions of Workforce for the Future and the Scottish Government ambition to create a strategic framework from qualification though to enhanced practice, remains at the forefront of NLC’s commitment to Social Workers. Our Social Work Trainee Scheme has supported both enhanced career pathways for NLC employees and internal social work recruitment planning. Eight employees joined the current scheme with four graduating and moving into social work posts this year and others scheduled to complete within the next two years. Work is also ongoing with HR and Training & Organisational Development to develop the Social Work Graduate Apprenticeship Scheme, which is likely to go live in September. In addition to internal pathways, we continue to recruit externally with a reduction in vacancies and turnover likely to be linked to the re-evaluation of social worker and first line manager post two years ago leading to more competitive salaries and recruitment although a balance of experience levels in some teams remains a challenge, with the need identified also for more focussed support for first line managers. Work is ongoing with Training and Organisational Development (TOD) colleagues to address this. Immediate access to our Senior Practitioner scheme for eligible Social Workers is an option if the criteria, as set out in the scheme, are met. Our Senior Practitioner Scheme has also recently been reviewed. Updated guidance and a review of the process has ensured that the requirements of the scheme are clearer for Social Workers and Community Occupational Therapists, and that the additional responsibilities carried out by Senior Practitioners also meet service needs. With over 60 practitioners holding the status, the scheme facilitates further support for Social Work services whilst rewarding practitioners, for their experience and effort, with an enhanced salary. Challenges around temporary cover requirements remain with temporary vacancies not automatically filled due to the financial implications and often difficult to recruit to, impacting the team’s capacity. For this reason, temporary vacancies are being closely monitored in terms of numbers and locations with a number of longer-term cover requirements advertised recently with some success. Where specialist experience has been deemed essential, for example, in Social Work Emergency Services (out-of-hour service), the hospitals and the Home Assessment Team (HAT), role-specific Page 71 of 138
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61 Social Worker and Senior Social Worker adverts have been used. This approach has continued to produce positive results. One area that has remained a challenge is appointment to our Community Mental Health Teams. Qualified Mental Health Officer vacancies in the past year have impacted service provision across localities. Continuous advertising has now resulted in appointments, but the challenge of supporting new appointees and retaining staff continues. We continue to be committed to promoting the MHO programme to existing Social Workers within the service. Work is also ongoing to prepare interested Social Workers for future courses. Two funded MHO Traineeship Scheme places are currently within the structure, with a recent review agreeing to an increase to this number in future years. Our Practice Assessor continues to work with MHO students and those who express an interest in attending the postgraduate course, supporting the development of Social Workers in Community Mental Health Teams across the localities. As reflected in section 3.3 above six sessional MHOs also provide support for the service. 5.3 SOCIAL CARE As was the case last year, a significant focus remains on the recruitment of Home Support Workers and other social care roles. Continuous recruitment to the post of Home Support Worker has been ongoing for several months with new Home Support Workers now onboarding, however high numbers of leavers continue to impact on the staffing overall. The Home Support Service review continues to review current and project future service demands, with employee age and skill profiles being considered when future staffing considerations are being made. 5.4 OTHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION CHALLENGES A review and redesign of Social Work business support and administration has taken place over this period with a view to modernising roles and responsibilities and is anticipated to conclude in summer 2025. The aim is not only to update the structure and roles in line with current business needs but to improve career pathways for staff and address retention challenges in an area which remains critical to the effective delivery of social work services. Challenges remain also within our Locality Support Services, as turnover can be high across the mix of grades supporting direct delivery, which makes it difficult to maintain stable staffing levels across the six localities. Overall, the service has benefited from the support provided by the Summer Placement Programme and the opportunities that have arisen for students following placements. Following an initial intake of 18 summer placements in 2023, and building on the success of that, across the reporting period 52 summer placements were taken up across the service. For summer 2025 planning is at an advanced stage for further expansion of the scheme, to 64 placements. This programme offers paid work to NLC pupils for seven weeks of the school summer holidays within Social Work services in roles such as Home Support Worker, Locality Support Worker and in various roles within the Integrated Equipment and Adaptation Store promoting also interest in Page 72 of 138
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62 the field of social work and social care amongst school leavers and subsequent interest in both sessional and substantive opportunities, a key priority in the light of both recruitment challenges and the age profile of our workforce. 5.5 SOCIAL WORK DEGREE PATHWAY Since the disbanding of Learning Network West, we have been working hard to establish and create new partnerships with Universities and Further Education providers across Central Scotland. These partnerships will also enable students to have access to more sustainable and achievable placement opportunities within their own locale. These links have further enabled us to also address some of the concerns raised post-covid regarding the learning and realistic expectations of students with respect to roles within Social Work. The Practice Learning Team has been invited to universities to present input and learning events for students to enhance their knowledge and understanding and our links support them in preparing students for placement by fully aligning their learning needs resulting in a more meaningful placement for both them and the Council. We have developed our links with South Lanarkshire Council and are working on the implementation of a local placement pathway agreement allowing students to gain two statutory placements during their studies with us. It is anticipated this will better prepare them for their supported year as a Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW), making them more confident and competent in their role. Since August 2024 we have hosted 51 external students on placement from four different universities We continue to operate a student hub based within Motherwell Social Work Locality offices with our students and trainee social workers working together as a team under the supervision of a Senior Practice Learning Officer. Work is sourced and allocated from across all Social Work Service in NLC. Graduate Apprenticeships Route and Internal Pathway Developments As referenced above we are currently a working with Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, UWS Paisley campus, the Open University, SASW and with two Local Authorities - Fife and Edinburgh, to develop a Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) in Social Work with the proposal for the GA programme currently with SSSC for approval. If successful, we predict this pathway to commence in late 2025. In preparation of this we are currently developing a process that will enable internal staff already on the Social Work pathway to apply and envisage supporting six GA placements in the first year, with a rolling programme every year thereafter. In addition to our trainee posts we are also supporting 38 members of staff with individual learning plans; all of whom are undertaking Open University modules and working towards a Page 73 of 138
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63 degree in Social Work. Twelve from this pathway have progressed as far as independently possible without the agreement of sponsorship from the service, therefore we are looking at ways to further progress this route. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 5.6 FOCUS ON HOMECARE SSSC – registration process We have engaged with SSSC to enable a smoother process for Home Support Workers who have a qualification to achieve their registration. The Talent and Organisation Development (TOD) team have been collaborating with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to ensure staff are well- informed about their responsibilities regarding registration. Care Management 2000 (CM2000), our new scheduling system is critical to significantly enhancing efficiency for both our employees and service users. In September 2024, priority was given to the roll out of training to Home Support Workers introducing them to CM Mobile, the new app that they will be using to access their schedules. By December 2024 sessions 1,129 workers had been fully trained, and as of April 2025 we have now delivered training to 1,264 members of staff in total. Moving and Positioning Training In partnership with a range of stakeholders, we have conducted a robust review of the Service's "moving and positioning" training requirements. As a result, we have updated and enhanced our training offerings to better align with the needs of the Service. We have also been engaged in discussions regarding the rebranding and renaming of the current "Moving and Positioning" training programme to align with North Lanarkshire Council's commitment to person-centred language and Trauma-Informed Practice. As part of this update, we have replaced the previous course title with ‘Supporting Individuals with Moving and Positioning.’ This training is also important for our staff in other settings including Integrated Day and Locality Support Services. In addition to the broader role of our care academy two significant projects have also supported the development of the homecare workforce over the past year: Upskilling for Home Care Workers In line with the qualification agenda, we continue to utilise the monies available from the UK Prosperity Fund to develop a training pathway for our Home Support staff. Our partnership with New College Lanarkshire has enabled us to procure access to ongoing spaces for the programme over the next year with another 60 workers currently undertaking qualification from our Aug 2024, Nov 2024, and March 2025 cohorts. The success of this programme has also allowed us the opportunity to extend this relationship with New College Lanarkshire with us recognising the ongoing staffing difficulties within the service and the level of new recruits requiring access to qualifications within a shorter timescale. Page 74 of 138
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64 Home Care Support Officers We are continuing to identify opportunities to support this group of staff to access suitable qualifications and opportunities for future employment pathways. However, this work will now be aligned with the redesign of the home support service. 5.7 NEWLY QUALIFIED SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMME The practice learning team has inherited additional duties and pressures following the decision from SSSC not to extend the funding for Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) supported year programmes. In response to this we have now linked each of our three full-time Practice Educators with two Locality teams to ensure that we can support all six localities and the current 65 NQSW across the services. The Practice Learning team facilitate Early Professional Development sessions monthly as well as individual and group learning sessions. The team also supports all Senior Social Workers and managers who currently have a NQSW in their team. Expectations of the NQSW in terms of demonstrating achievement of multiple learning requirements required for registration have created a level of anxiety amongst this cohort of our workforce and challenge for line managers. In response to this, the practice learning team are working in collaboration with the Clyde Valley consortium to develop a more streamlined NQSW pathway by developing a workbook that will be easier to navigate to support NQSW and managers when gathering evidence and validating work, whilst ensuring that we are working and following the same principles. 5.8 OTHER KEY TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES Development of a Social Work learning dashboard on Learn NL December 2024 saw the launch of our newly designed and developed Social Work Learning dashboard which was a key driver in enabling staff across the service to have easy access to training and development opportunities, also providing a space to share and promote resources that are specific and relevant to services. To date, the feedback and response has shown that staff are now more able to navigate and find training in relation to their service and role and also becoming more active in relation to self-booking and securing training dates and attendance at both online and face-to-face opportunities. The dashboard also allows managers to readily monitor the uptake of training. Training Needs Analysis As part of the development of the Learn NL Social Work dashboard, substantial training needs analysis has been completed across all Social Work and Social Care services. The findings from these TNAs have been used to identify and prioritise learning and development opportunities over the coming year. Below are examples both of core training delivery and the development of training offers to address specific service needs, developments and improvement priorities: Page 75 of 138
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65 Provision of Getting it Right in Child Protection training We continue to work alongside our colleagues on the Child Protection Committee to offer a range of multi-agency training opportunities across the partnership. These are made up of in-person training, online training sessions as well as e-Learning modules. Since April 2024, we have delivered a range of learning including: Core five day training Getting it Right in Child Protection, Introduction to Contextual Safeguarding, CEOP Child Exploitation and Online Protection Training, Presenting Your Evidence Training as well as inputs on Child Criminal Exploitation and Parental Substance Misuse. We have also seen a steady increase in the use of Learn NL for eLearning modules and learning materials including on: Child Protection Awareness, Contextual Safeguarding, Child Sexual Exploitation, Understanding Child Neglect, Equal Protection, Age of Criminal Responsibility and Assessment and Planning for Children and Young People Safe & Together We have been supporting the commissioning of specialist eLearning modules and materials from the Safe and Together Institute. We are now working alongside our Digital Lead colleagues and legal advisers to ensure copyright, compliance and programme integrity issues are addressed so that we can bring these materials to North Lanarkshire; as potentially the first local authority in the UK to gain access to these materials. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) We are also working together on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) training framework, looking at ways to implement this aligning with the standards and identifying any gaps or areas for improvement that need to be addressed. Adult Support and Protection Training We continue to work alongside our colleagues from the Adult Protection Committee and Senior Officers within Adult Health and Social Care to refresh and align our Adult Support Level 1 training, offered to all Home Support Workers and admin staff, to that offered through multi agency settings Assessment, Planning and Recording Practice training Working alongside our colleagues in Senior Social Work Management, we have developed a new, refreshed and rebranding of the above training to ‘Getting it right for everyone: Person centred; outcome focused training’ which is aligned to the current focus on our Back 2 Basics agenda, enabling hubs and strengths-based approaches. This training has been delivered to all Senior Social Workers, and work is ongoing to cascade this across the Social Work workforce. Page 76 of 138
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66 There will be an emphasis on this training being delivered to our colleagues in Adults Health and Social Care in the first instance with this then being adapted to also include colleagues in Children & Families and Justice. Sensory Impairment Awareness Training We continue to work with our Rehabilitation and Mobility Officers who deliver Sensory Impairment Training throughout the year extending access to third sector colleagues and refreshing content including working with our colleagues from Corporate Communications and the Civic Centre Ancillary staff to develop interactive video and accompanying resources. Subject Access Request Social work leads have worked with TOD and Legal Information Governance and Standards services to support staff to develop a more tailored offer for social work staff with respect to Subject Access Requests (SARs). Incorporating learning from our work on historical abuse a key focus has been not only to ensure compliance with statutory responsibilities but to ensure requests are managed in a way which is trauma- informed and sensitive to individual needs. We have delivered two sessions so far which were well received, having achieved an attendance of 238. Unpaid Work Learning Clusters In partnership with Community Justice Scotland, South Lanarkshire and Glasgow City Council, the Restorative Justice team has developed Unpaid Work Learning Clusters. This specific learning relates to the unique role of an Unpaid Work Supervisor and is aimed at improving the knowledge, understanding, skills, and values of paraprofessionals working within unpaid work teams. Nine ‘taster modules’ in various aspects of Social Work theory and practice that are highly relevant to the role, particularly to Placement Managers and Supervisors, were delivered. Restorative Justice hosted 10 events from May 2024 until November 2024 involving local authorities from across the West of Scotland. Social Work Induction Working alongside our Colleagues across Social Work Services and Quality Assurance; work is ongoing in the development of a digital Social Work Induction which will be available for all members of Social Work Staff and a useful resource for service information. It is also envisaged that work will continue in this area to further develop in-house induction to complement the suite of opportunities and information being made available as well as the National Induction Framework being made available through SSSC Practice learning pathway for link workers We currently have a practice learning pathway for Social Workers with two years post qualifying experience and interested in becoming link workers. At present we have 140 Link Workers, and Page 77 of 138
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67 22 Practice Educators based in service throughout NLC. We also have a number of Link Workers applying to undertake the Practice Development Award in Learning, which will start later this year use partnership links to access four places on the Glasgow City Council PDA in Practice Learning (PDAPL) route and two places at Napier University starting January 2026. Over the coming year, the TOD team exploring the potential to bring this qualification in-house through our Assessment Centre. Policies and Procedures Resource We are working alongside our colleagues in Quality Assurance and our HR Transformations Team via short-life working group to look at updating and improving access to all resources relating to live Social Work policies and procedures. This follows on from a growing number of requests from staff asking to access such information and being unsure if the information is still relevant and up to date Continued provision of qualifications through the Assessment Centre The Assessment Centre continues to support SVQ and PDA qualifications required to meet registration, role, and CPD requirements. This is achieved through both in-house assessment and access to SVQs through external providers. Provision of post-graduate qualifications The team also continues to provide access to Post Graduate Certificate opportunities through the Learning and Development budget. The numbers undertaking some forms of qualification are detailed below: • Postgraduate in Child Welfare and Protection – three • Postgraduate in Adult Support and Protection – one • Postgraduate in Dementia Studies – one • Postgraduate in Contemporary Drug & Alcohol Studies – one • Mental Health Officer - two • Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership Pathways – one 5.9 TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICE The development of the council’s Trauma Plan is led within social work supported by a multi- service Steering Group. Since the introduction of the Trauma Informed Practice eLearning modules on Learn NL in March 2024 over 5,000 staff have accessed these. Supporting information and videos are also available relating to specific service areas including Justice Services, Dementia Care and Learning Disabilities whilst a successful Train the Trainer event also identified 11 in-house facilitators who can support the roll out of Transforming Connections, our skilled level of the face-to-face training programme. Critically we are working to ensure trauma- informed practice is embedded across our training and learning offers. Page 78 of 138
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68 5.10 SUPPORT FOR STAFF WELLBEING Staff Health and Wellbeing (HWB) is a key element of our approach to workforce, recognising alongside wider needs the particular factors which can cause pressure within social work and social care settings. During this time, a dedicated staff HWB worker has supported the activity across locality teams. Elements of the work undertaken include leadership wellbeing workshops, the continued role out of the ‘Stay Conversation’ project, delivery of bespoke wellbeing sessions for individual teams and the development of wider initiatives which include a peer support network in conjunction with voluntary sector partners. In addition, there has been work undertaken to identify leadership focused wellbeing approaches across teams that promote good practice including embedding HWB in staff supervision and CPD. A number of national and local priorities reflected in this report will carry forward into the next year and beyond as underpinning many of these priorities remains the need for longer term system change which cannot be taken forward in single year. Critical amongst these are the drive to shift our focus to prevention and the whole system work required to address the poverty and health inequalities which impact significantly on the demand for social work services and critically on the outcomes and life chances of those we support. In these areas North Lanarkshire’s Programme of Work alongside that of the HSCP will continue to provide a framework for the social work contribution. We are pleased also to have the opportunity to undertake new work with SHERU (Scottish Health Equity Research Unit) and as part of our new Fairer Futures Partnership (FFP) to drive progress in this area whilst also continuing our work with Promise Scotland. Continuing to embed and promote trauma-informed, relational, strengths based practice and enabling approaches is also fundamental to transforming our services Across Adult Health & Social Care Services, we will align the work developed through our pathfinder as we progress from our Back-to-Basics approach to Getting it Right for Everyone to ensure that meaningful outcomes are realised, with people accessing the right support at the right time, whilst also minimising pressure on services. Whilst in Children’s Services we will continue to progress our Signs of Safety and Healing and Contextual Safeguarding approaches. We will also progress our multi-agency review of family support alongside a stocktake of progress as we move beyond the half-way point of the national Promise transformation programme. The further strengthening of integrated working both within social work and across partner services and agencies will also remain critical in areas such as transitional safeguarding, child criminal exploitation and in supporting the growing cohort of children and young people with additional support needs, the focus to for our FFP work. Work around the strategic intent set out in the North Lanarkshire Carers Strategy 2024 -2027 will continue, with a specific focus around parent carers, an area identified where further engagement would be beneficial. 2024 saw the formal adoption, within Scotland, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Alongside this, a Child Friendly Complaints Handling Procedure was introduced by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). As we progress into 2025, we will seek to continue to implement learning from complaints to improve practice. 6. LOOKING FORWARD – PRIORITIES FOR 2025-2026 AND BEYOND Page 79 of 138
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69 A range of additional legislation will also place new duties and demands on social work as these are rolled out including the Children (Care and Justice Act) 2024, Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, Prison (Early Rease) (Scotland) Act 2025 and the Children (Care, Care Experience and Service Planning) (Scotland) Bill which is progressing through the parliamentary process. Despite the relatively healthy outturn position reported in Section 4 of this report there remain substantial financial pressures across the sector as demand for services outweighs capacity as well as a range of workforce challenges outlined above, within a context where the service’s core social worker staffing per head of population is lower than the national average and the lowest in our family group. The establishment of the New National Social Work Agency and National Social Work Partnership should support progress with respect to core areas in scope including social work education and learning, workforce planning and leadership and governance of the profession, building also on the findings of the recent national thematic review of social work governance. Capacity to invest to resource improvement in these areas however remains uncertain. In this context local partnership working to drive and support change and gain best value from our joint resource will remain key, as will building on our learning on how we can best support and develop our staff. Alongside this the embedding of new digital systems should support both greater efficiency as well as improved data on which to plan although there is need also for active consideration of the potential opportunities (and limitations) of AI applications to support staff in areas such as recording and analysis As we move forward to take on some of these challenges and opportunities this report demonstrates that we have a solid base of good practice on which to build. Page 80 of 138
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Adult Care and Social Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref DF/AB/NC/AM Date 11/11/25 Self-evaluation Activity Within Adult Support and Protection. From Diane Fraser, Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) E-mail FraserDi@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 1. Background 1.1 Adult social work services routinely perform audits on key business areas as part of a continuous self-evaluation programme. In line with the ongoing improvement plan for Adult Support and Protection (ASP) in North Lanarkshire, an audit was conducted on the revised ASP policy and procedures implemented in April 2024. 1.2 Revised procedures saw changes to the AP2 risk assessment as well as a newly devised AP3 Protection Plan. Executive Summary This report highlights key findings and themes from the most recent self-evaluation activity within Adult Support and Protection. The aim of this evaluation was to assess the impact and effectiveness of recent changes to local ASP policies and procedures. The report focuses on two key areas of ASP business, the AP2 risk assessment and the AP3 protection plan. It outlines the scope and methodology used during the evaluation and highlights its contribution to the broader ASP improvement plan within adult social work. Recommendations It is recommended that the Adult Care and Social Work Committee: 1) Recognise the key and emerging themes from the Adult Support and Protection self- evaluation activity. 2) Acknowledge the ASP improvement plan and the identified actions to support performance sustainability and improvement. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (14) Ensure the highest standards of public protection Programme of Work Resilient People Item 4 Page 81 of 138
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1.3 Our approach focuses on the multi-agency aspect of risk assessing and protection planning in ASP. NLC social work in collaboration with stakeholders from the Adult Protection Committee (APC), operates to the principle that adult support and protection is everyone’s business. it was essential that procedural changes reflected this ethos, and that the evaluation activity assessed the effectiveness of partnership working within ASP. 1.4 The Care Inspectorate encourages partnerships to periodically assess their ASP arrangements. The Care Inspectorates Quality Improvement Indicator (QIF) tool is designed to support ASP self-evaluation activity and has supported this report. In addition, this evaluation activity and subsequent actions contributes to adult social work services being inspection ready. 2. Report 2.1 The report has been underpinned by guiding Care Inspectorate principles for self- evaluation activity, these are: • How are we doing? • How do we know? • What are we going to do now? 2.2 The self-evaluation work also cuts across key quality indicators for ASP, primarily QIF 1.1,1.2 and 5.2 Methodology 2.3 The report was informed by both qualitive and quantitative data collection methods. These included file reading, a focus group and a staff survey. 2.3.1 A staff survey was distributed to all qualified social workers within the six local area community care teams. This featured 15 questions and received a total of 21 responses. 2.3.2 A focus group was facilitated by the Senior Officer for ASP and Senior Officer from APC. There was representation from four community care teams which included 2x Senior Social Workers and 2x Social Workers/Council Officers. 2.3.3 The initial aim of the file reading exercise was to sample 30 cases, 5 per locality team, 24 cases were sampled in total. These cases were randomly from the social work performance database. The prerequisite of selection was that the case had to have progressed to an initial ASP Case Conference, to ensure that we were capturing the information required to inform the audit. Case types 2.4 Data from file reading confirms that physical harm is the primary harm type for ASP referrals sampled, with a total of seven referrals featuring this harm type. This is consistent with the broader data range routinely reported within ASP. Similarly, financial harm was found to be the primary harm type on seven cases sampled. Cases linked to financial harm often require intervention under section 10 of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, in order for Council Officers to examine financial records of the adult at risk of harm Page 82 of 138
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2.5 Cases featuring physical harm are frequent within ASP however the term is broad and encompassing therefore it has been helpful to examine secondary harm types. File reading revealed that secondary harm types such as neglect and self-neglect feature in cases where physical harm is recorded. In addition to this, these cases can often feature alcohol, drug use and mental health issues. There is a recognition that these types of cases often present challenges for practitioners within an ASP context and require a multi-agency response to mitigate risks, often cross cutting legislation from ASP to AWI and at times the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 2.6 Social Work was the primary referrer of ASP referrals in the cases sampled. This can be linked to the high numbers of ASP referrals featuring financial harm and professional judgment utilised by social work practitioners of the functions of the legislation required to mitigate risks in these case types. Additionally, there were five referrals across NHS/L, six referrals from community based/independent providers and three referrals form Police Scotland. Case Journey 2.7 All cases sampled evidenced inquiry with investigatory activity. The high number of investigatory activity provided assurances that practitioners have understood and responded to key policy change. Moreover, this also provides assurances that practitioners are responding to risk situations appropriately providing the basis for strong risk assessments. 2.8 All cases sampled progressed onto an initial ASP Case Conference in the majority of cases the correct professionals were invited to the case conference In all cases sampled the adult was offered support from advocacy services. In the majority of cases advocacy support was rated as ‘good’ with one being categorised as ‘very good’ and the other ‘adequate’. One area of improvement relating to case conferences is recording if the adult attended the meeting. Key themes and findings Risk Assessment (AP2) 2.9 A total of 23 AP2’s were available to read within service user folders. This is a relatively small sample size when we consider there was 75 case conferences held during the reporting period. This shows that AP2’s are not being used to support decision-making and are not being used to inform case conferences. However, there will be circumstances when a completed AP2 has not been upload to the service user folder. 2.10 An identifiable theme from the staff survey and focus group relates to the length and time taken to complete the AP2. Staff were consistent in their comments that the document was time consuming and they did not always feel they had sufficient time to complete this in time scales between ASP inquiry and case conference. 2.11 Overall, the AP2 were of a high standard. Ten were categorised as ‘very good’ and eight as ‘good’. One was ‘excellent’ with the remaining three either weak or adequate. This shows that good quality risk assessment is undertaken by practitioners in localities. 2.12 Good practice examples within risk assessments showed evidence of professional curiosity, the consideration of other legislative options as well as considering the adults Page 83 of 138
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executive functions. In addition, we found examples of good partnership working to mitigate risks as well as improved outcomes for adults as a result of interventions under ASP. Protection Plan (AP3) 2.13 Feedback from the staff survey and focus group was overwhelmingly positive for the AP3. Participants commented that the document is easy to follow, and they like the analysis section. Further comments report that the document is now more robust and provides good evidence to all involved in the ASP process. 2.14 Similarly to the risk assessments, the majority of protection plans were either, good, very good or excellent. With one being viewed as adequate. Key strengths of protection plan included being multi-agency informed, clearly identifying risks and mitigating actions 2.15 Exemplar AP3’s were those protection plans that acted as a fluid document. They were updated following each core group, this acted as a useful visual which allowed partitioners and the adult at risk to see how successful or not interventions had been. Protection plans which recorded the analysis of risk for review case conference were particularly good 2.16 AP3’s noting areas of improvement shared a common theme, they were only updated following initial case conference Appendix 16 2.17 Appendix 16 was a newly created tool to assist practitioners when writing an AP2 to gain information from partner agencies. Practitioners commented that they understood the need for capturing the views and information from partner agencies however faced challenges when using it. 2.18 Practitioners who had used appendix 16 commented that when receiving information from a partner agency it was difficult to work through due to the large content and not all information being relevant to the risk assessment. Others commented that they had sent an appendix 16 to agencies but did not receive any information back. 2.19 It was evident appendix 16 was not routinely utilised, in part due to aforementioned reasons. It is important to note that although there was an absence of appendix 16 within files this did not result in a lack of multi-agency involvement in the ASP process. Evidence from the file reading showed good examples of partnership working in the following areas; • 23 of the 24 files showed multi-agency partners views were used to inform a risk assessment. • Some AP2’s were found to have a multi-agency chronology and information without the need for appendix 16. • 21 cases featured an investigatory visit to an adult. On 7 occasions a 2nd worker was deployed from a partner agency to support investigatory activity. • Of the 24 cases which progressed to ASP Case Conference- 21 featured the relevant partner agencies. Chronologies Page 84 of 138
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2.20 Chronologies are a crucial tool in Adult Support and Protection, helping practitioners gain a clearer understanding of an individual's circumstances and identify any emerging patterns of risk. When used effectively, they contribute to informed risk assessments and protection planning and support a shared understanding among professionals of the potential risks facing the adult. 2.21 All cases sampled had a chronology on file however most chronologies were rated as weak or adequate with five chronologies being rated as ‘good’. 2.22 Most chronologies were populated by protection referrals, offering no insight into significant events within an adults life pre or post protection activity. 2.23 North Lanarkshire’s joint inspection of ASP in 2022 highlighted the need to improve the quality of chronologies, there is little evidence to suggest progress in this area. 2.24 Chronologies which were categorised as ‘good’ featured input from other social work agencies namely Criminal Justice and Addictions teams. It should be noted that there were examples of robust multi-agency chronologies within an AP2 however this did not align with information on MySWIS.(social work information system) Outcomes 2.25 File reading examined the outcomes for adults subject to ASP legislation. In most cases the adult was better protected primarily as a result of support provision. Other outcomes included improved wellbeing for adults and adults living as they want and being able to protect themselves from harm. 2.26 Further examples of good practice relate to clear use and application of ASP principles. The use of Protection Orders in the form of a banning order to improve outcomes for adults as well as links between ASP and AWI to mitigate risks for an adult. Conclusion 2.27 The self-evaluation has highlighted examples of good practice linked to recent changes in ASP policy and procedures. These will be shared through learning and development pathways to promote peer learning and inform future practice 2.28 There is compliance with key changes to the AP2 and AP3 however this has been inconsistent. Further work is required to ascertain what fosters good practice and why barriers exist for others. 2.29 Based on our findings, adults who have been subject to ASP benefit from better outcomes following interventions. 2.30 the learning and feedback from this self-evaluation activity has supported the wider improvement plan for ASP within North Lanarkshire. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Practitioners will feel comfortable and confident in using the AP2 Risk Assessment 3.2 Service users will have an AP2 on file when going to case conference Page 85 of 138
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3.3 There will be evidence of the AP2 being used to support decision making at investigatory stage 3.4 The AP3 will be used as intended, it will be fluid and reflect the changing nature of risk and inform each core group. All service users who progress to core group will have an active AP3 on file 3.5 Multi-agency practitioners will feel confident in the use of appendix 16 3.6 Practitioners will value and recognise the use of chronologies in supporting assessment and decision making. Chronologies will regularly be kept up to date, populate with significant and key events in the adults life. 3.7 The above areas will be tracked via continued self-evaluation and tracked via the single agency ASP improvement plan. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - ASP self-evaluation full report Diane Fraser Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) Page 86 of 138
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 87 of 138
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 88 of 138
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Page | 1 North Lanarkshire Council- Adult Support and Protection Policy and Procedures Audit 2024/25 Page 89 of 138
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Page | 2 Contents 1. Purpose 2. Audit Activity 3. Findings 4. Recommendations ____________________________________________________________________________________ 1.Purpose North Lanarkshire Council's social work services routinely perform audits on key business areas as part of a continuous self-evaluation programme. In line with the ongoing improvement plan for Adult Support and Protection (ASP) in North Lanarkshire, an audit was conducted on the revised ASP policy and procedures implemented in April 2024. Page 90 of 138
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Page | 3 Revised procedures saw changes to the AP2 risk assessment as well as a newly devised AP3 Protection Plan. Therefore, the audit focused on the quality of the AP2 and AP3 highlighting areas of good practice and any areas of improvement. In addition, Appendix 16 within the AP2 document was reviewed, analysing the quality of information received by the agency returning the document. In addition to reviewing files, a small focus group consisting of two social workers and two senior social workers was conducted to gather further operational insights on the new ASP procedures. Additionally, a staff survey was distributed to all six locality community care teams to obtain a broader perspective and understanding of staff’s experience of the ASP procedures. This received 21 responses. Findings from this audit are shared with Chief Officers, Social Work Governance and the APC as well as being used to inform future Council Officer training. 2.Audit Activity 2.1 This report was compiled by Nicholas Curran Senior Officer for ASP with support from Johanna Johnson Senior Officer APC. Page 91 of 138
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Page | 4 The audit utilised aspects of the Care Inspectorate ASP filing reading tool to support the collation of data. Information to inform the audit was taken from Myswis and localities service user folder on SharePoint. Cases were selected via the social work performance database. This database is made up of data directly from Myswis. This presented its own challenges as there is a reliance of swis data being recorded accurately for it to transfer to the database. 2.2 File reading The initial aim of the audit was to sample 30 cases with 5 cases being selected per locality. This was not possible due to a combination of factors. One being that due to inaccurate recordings on swis sufficient data did not transfer to the performance database, in addition, there was a duplicate case record as well as one case record which was disregarded due to a parallel review being undertaken as part of the CSWO notification process. The table below shows the number of cases per locality that were suitable for audit, meaning they included an AP2, AP3, or both. It is hoped with the implementation of Mosaic and AP2/AP3 being stored within the system then there will be a greater sample available for future audit activity. Page 92 of 138
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Page | 5 The above table shows that it was not possible to sample five cases per locality that featured both and AP2 and AP3. This is concerning as the number of AP2’s on file does not correlate with the number of ASP Case Conferences held. For example, there was approximately 82 case conferences held in the reporting year sampled. Therefore, each locality should have a minimum of five AP2 risks assessments on file to sample. Factors which do not result in AP2’s being completed is the urgent turn around from referral to case conference and AP2’s being completed but not uploaded to SharePoint by the council officer. 4 4 4 5 2 5 NO OF CASES AUDITED NO OF CASES AUDITED PER LOCALITY Airdrie Bellshill Coatbridge Cumbernauld Motherwell Wishaw Page 93 of 138
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Page | 6 2.3 Focus Group A focus group was held via MS Teams, facilitated by Nicholas and Johanna, two SSW’s joined the group as well as two social workers/council officers. The purpose of the group was to ascertain the views of operational colleagues on the changes to ASP Policy and Procedures. This was to support wider self-evaluation work and collate examples of good practice and areas for improvement. Key changes to ASP policy and procedures were discussed. An overview of these areas is below. Comment on the change of language and implication in relation to ASP Inquires with/without investigatory activity Participants agreed that there are less ‘grey areas’ than previously. There was a view that this change has not had a major impact on operational colleagues. Participants agreed that the language being introduced to the ASP 9 headings write up is helpful although the new language does not align with Swis at present. Participants were reassured Mosaic would reflect the new changes in language. The new procedures state that any direct contact with the adult can only be undertaking by a council officer. Has this had any practice implications? If yes, please explain. Page 94 of 138
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Page | 7 One participant commented that there was still some confusion whether or not family members could be contacted as part of inquiry without investigatory activity. It was advised if the family member is a legal proxy then this must be completed by a council officer. Participants reported this can present some challenges for teams where council officer numbers are limited and non-council officers already have an existing relationship with families. There was a view that this change would result in most ASP referrals progressing to inquiry with investigatory activity, even if this was as a result of a telephone call with the adult or their legal proxy. Participants advised this could have practical implications for their council officers as it will place a greater demand on them as some of this work was previously completed by non-council officers. Risk Assessment AP2 Participants felt the document was too lengthy and quite repetitive. Views that the document is not being used as a risk assessment but rather a report to case conference. Participants offered a view that there are times when an AP2 is not being completed prior to case conference as the response time has been so urgent there wasn’t enough time to populate the document. Participants would like to see a condensed version of the AP2. Appendix 16 Participants understood the reasoning behind the document however have experienced practical challenges. They expressed they do not feel partner agencies are confident in completing the form. Area teams have had limited responses after distributing the document. In cases where responses were received, partner agencies have often provided excessive information on the adult at risk, resulting in challenges in processing information prior to case conference. Participants highlighted particular issues in getting any type of Page 95 of 138
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Page | 8 information from GP’s relating to ASP whereas Cumbernauld representative highlighted improved information sharing in ASP with the local district nurses team. Protection Plan AP3 Feedback relating to changes of this tool was overwhelmingly positive. Participants commented that it is easy to follow and they like the analysis section. Further comments report that the document is now more robust and provides good evidence to all involved in the ASP process of what is working and what is not working. One negative was reported and this was in relation to the section where the minute of the meeting should be recorded. The participant advised this can make the document ‘messy’ and feels it would be better if the minute was kept separate from the AP3. 3.Overall Findings 3.1 Statistical and thematic analysis While the primary aim of the audit was to assess the overall quality of AP2 Risk Assessments and AP3 Protection Plans, and evaluate the effectiveness of key changes to ASP policy and procedures, the process also revealed Page 96 of 138
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Page | 9 additional themes related to ASP activity. These insights are important to report for continued self-evaluation. The findings below outline the key areas identified during the audit 3.2 Harm Types 7 7 6 2 1 1 Physical harm Financial harm Self-neglect Emotional/Psychological harm Sexual harm Domestic Abuse 'Primary harm type' by 'Primary harm type' Total 11 11 4 2 3 5 1 2 2 Physical harm Emotional/Psychological harm Neglect Financial Harm Harm to self Self-neglect Hoarding Domestic Abuse Other 'Secondary/multiple harm types' Total Data from the audit confirms that physical harm is the primary harm type for ASP referrals sampled. This is consistent with the broader data range routinely reported on within ASP. Financial harm was found to be the primary harm type on seven cases sampled. Cases linked to financial harm often require intervention under section 10 of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, in order for Council Officers to examine financial records of the adult at risk of harm, this, in part, explains the relatively high numbers of financial harm cases sampled. Page 97 of 138
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Page | 10 3.3 Referrer 3.4 Case Type 3 8 2 1 3 3 2 1 Police Social Work NHS/L-Acute services NHS/l Community Third sector/support provider Independent sector/support provider NHS 24 Housing Referrer Total Of the cases sampled, 8 of them were referred internally by NLC social work. There is a distribution across health agency via community and acute settings as well as NHS 24. Third sector referrers include Routes to Work. The consistent case type sampled features adults with a physical disability. Adults with a learning disability and dementia/cognitive impairment also featured within the audit activity. There were 7 case files with adults who were either impacted by mental health issues and/or drug and alcohol use. Page 98 of 138
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Page | 11 3.5 Inquires without/with investigatory activity 3.6 Case Conference Yes 23 1 No WAS AN INQUIRY WITH INVESTIGATORY ACTIVITY CARRIED OUT 100% Was an ASP Case Conference held? Yes All cases sampled received an inquiry with investigatory activity. 1 case is recorded as not receiving full investigatory activity and this is due to the case proceeding directly to planning meeting from referral and then to case conference. 20 cases progressed directly to investigatory activity from referral. This conveys professional judgment from Council Officers that functions of the legislation were required and enacted as soon as possible. 3 cases started with an initial inquiry without investigatory activity however later progressed to investigatory activity. All cases sampled progressed to an ASP Case Conference. We agree that it was the appropriate course of action in all cases that a multi-agency ASP case conference was held. Most Case Conferences were held within procedural timescales however there were 4 examples when there were delays in holding the meeting. These range from 2 weeks to 1 month, with one case showing a 3 month delay in holding the case conferences. Page 99 of 138
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Page | 12 3.7 Quality of risk assessment (AP2) 3.8 Quality of Protection Plan (AP3) 1 10 8 2 1 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 EXCELLENT VERY GOOD GOOD ADEQUATE WEAK UNSATASFACTORY Quality of the overall risk assessment When reviewing the overall risk assessment an adult received, we examined both the AP2 and the recommendation section within the investigatory recording. It is important to reinforce the work completed during an inquiry is a ‘mini’ risk assessment, prior to completing a ‘fuller’ risk assessment (AP2) if required. Overall, risk assessments were rated as good or excellent standard with a small number being rated as adequate or weak. Good practice examples within risk assessments involved evidence of professional curiosity, the consideration of other legislative options as well as considering the adults executive functions. In addition, we found examples of good partnership working to mitigate risks as well as improved outcomes for adults as a result of interventions under ASP. Not all cases sampled had a protection plan on file. Protection Plans are only utilised when there is an agreement at case conference the adult meets the 3 point criteria and requires further support and protection via a protection plan. Similarly to the risk assessments, the majority of protection plans were either, good, very good or excellent. With one being viewed as adequate. Key strengths of protection plans included being multi-agency informed, clearly identifying risks and what needs to be done to mitigate these risks and by who. Exemplar AP3’s were protection plans that acted as a fluid document. They were updated following each core group and RAG rated actions, this acted as a useful visual which allowed partitioners and the adult at risk to see how successful or not interventions had been. Protection plans which recorded the analysis of risk for review case conference were particularly good, this is reassuring and compliments comments made from SSW’s within the focus group session. AP3’s which had areas of improvement shared a common theme. These AP3’s were only kept up to date after the first case conference, there was no evidence of AP3 informing future case conferences and therefore no evidence on the progress of how risk was mitigating or increasing. Page 100 of 138
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Page | 13 3.9 Appendix 16 and multi-agency involvement 3.9.1 Chronologies It is evident from the file reading that appendix 16 is not being used to gather information from partner agencies, of the 24 cases sampled there is evidence in 1 file of appendix 16 being used. In this case, similar issues were experienced to that referenced in the focus group. Information was received from the partner agency, however this was vast information and not entirely related to the request. It is important to note that although Appendix 16 was rarely used this did not result in a lack of multi-agency involvement in the ASP process. Evidence from the file reading showed good examples of partnership working in a number of areas; • 23 of the 24 files showed multi-agency partners views were used to inform a risk assessment • Some AP2’s were found to have a multi-agency chronology and information without the need for appendix 16 • 21 cases featured an investigatory visit to an adult. On 7 occasions a 2nd worker was deployed from a partner agency to support investigatory activity. • Of the 24 cases which progressed to ASP Case Conference- 21 featured the relevant partner agencies Finally, it is important to highlight that in all case files read, advocacy support was offered to the adult at either inquiry stage or for case conference. Not all adults accepted this support however of the adults who did we saw that advocacy represented their views when attending case conference. Page 101 of 138
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Page | 14 All 24 cases sampled had a chronology on file. However, most chronologies were rated as weak or adequate with five chronologies being rated as good. Most chronologies were populated by protection referrals, offering no insight into significant events within the adults life pre or post protection activity. This is not dissimilar to findings from the joint inspection of ASP in North Lanarkshire in 2022. ‘Good’ chronologies featured input from other social work agencies namely Criminal Justice Social Work and Addictions teams. It should be noted that there were examples of robust multi agency chronologies within an AP2 risk assessment however these did not align with information from Myswis. 4.0 Recommendations An action plan has been devised with the view of consolidating and promoting good practice areas whilst highlighting area of improvement and how this can be achieved. ACTION RESPONSIBLE TIMESCALE RAG Good practice examples of AP2 & AP3’s will be shared during ASP Council Officer training Chronologies- Lifelong chronology group has been established. Appropriate actions from this will be shared via training/information sessions Page 102 of 138
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Page | 15 Appendix 16 information to be recirculated with Guidance to partners via APC AP2’s to be sampled again in January, giving time for mosaic implementation. This will provide more accurate data of the number of AP2’s relative to no of Case Conferences. Page 103 of 138
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Adult Care and Social Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref DF/AB/LB Date 11/11/25 Self-directed Support - self- evaluation From Diane Fraser, Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) E-mail FraserDi@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 332001 Executive Summary This report sets out the key findings and emerging themes from the recent self-evaluation, which assessed the extent to which the Self-Directed Support Framework of Standards is being effectively implemented. It details the scope and methodology of the evaluation process and presents the outcomes that will inform the development of a focused implementation plan. This work is closely aligned with the strategic vision and the principles underpinning the Getting it Right for Everyone operating model. Recommendations It is recommended that the Adult Care and Social Work Committee: (1) Acknowledge the key emerging themes identified through the Self-Directed Support (SDS) self-evaluation process, which highlight both areas of strong practice and opportunities for improvement. (2) Note that a comprehensive SDS Improvement Plan, informed by this evaluation, will be presented at a future meeting to support full implementation of the SDS Framework of Standards. (3) Agree that an update on the financial position relating to SDS will be provided at a future meeting, to support ongoing oversight and strategic planning. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Enhance participation, capacity, and empowerment across our communities Ambition statement (19) Improve engagement with communities and develop their capacity to help themselves Programme of Work Resilient People Item 5 Page 105 of 138
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1. Background 1.1 The partnership has embraced a learning-as-management strategy, a core component of the Human Learning Systems, in collaboration with Healthcare Improvement Scotland. This strategy places learning and experimentation at the heart of service development, guiding the redesign and transformation of programmes across the system including the SDS Transformation Agenda. 1.2 1A central component of this learning strategy is the Whole System Enabling Approach. The enabling approach aligns with the principles of Self-Directed Support and sets out the basis for our operating model in North Lanarkshire- Getting It Right for Everyone. 1.3 Self-directed support is the approach threading through all of the work of the Health and Social Care partnership. The ability to respond to people uniquely and continue to individualise responses including where an individual budget supports choice and control will remain the route to mitigate the impact of demographic change, cost of living challenges, workforce pressures and shared pressures across health services. 1.4 Our approach has a focus on a person centred, integrated and multi-agency approach to supporting people. The commitment to self-direction will shape and lead practice improvements and embed practice in decision making closest to people, shared decision making, and promoting self-determination. 1.5 Self-Directed Support project team. Social Work Scotland in conjunction with Healthcare Improvement Scotland have developed the learning and improvement framework. As early adopters of this approach we have now undertaken our self- evaluation, and this report will set out the key themes and next steps. 2. Report The Framework of Standards 2.1 In March 2021 the national framework of standards for the implementation of Self- Directed Support was developed and published by Social Work Scotland. The Standards are not in themselves statutory but aim to support best practice and demonstrate what good Self-directed Support implementation looks like. 2.2 The Self-Directed Support (SDS) Framework of Standards in consists of 13 standards, designed to guide and improve the implementation of SDS. 2.3 These standards are aligned with legislation and statutory guidance, and aim to ensure consistent, person-centred support for individuals and carers. 2.4 The foundation of the framework of standards is that Self-directed Support is not new or something to learn, it is not about resource allocation frameworks, and it is not only about an offer of the four SDS options. Crucially, SDS is about the implementation of core social work/practitioner values of human rights and relationships in practice, and it empowers social workers/practitioner to be autonomous in exercising their professional judgement, and using their own knowledge, skills and abilities, in partnership with supported people. Page 106 of 138
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2.5 The Framework is underpinned by four statutory principles which were established by the Social Care (Self- Directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013, and guide all aspects of social care delivery in Scotland: • Participation and dignity • Involvement • Informed choice • Collaboration 2.6 The 4 key implementation drivers are: Supported People, Workforce, Organisation, and Leadership. Each of these are aligned with specific standards. The standards are what good Self-directed Support practice looks like for everyone. The drivers are what good Self-directed Support implementation looks like for every part of the whole system. Self-Evaluation 2.7 Using the key implementation drivers we used a variety of methods, engaging extensively with individuals, carers, across our communities, across our workforce and the sector to allow us to capture honest feedback on how well we are implementing these standards and to what extent the implementation drivers are evident across our whole system. 2.8 For each standard, we wanted to consider: • Practice statements: Are they being implemented? • Core components: Are they embedded in practice? • Evidence of impact: What outcomes are being achieved for supported people and carers? What does this feel like? Page 107 of 138
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What is self-evaluation 2.9 Self-evaluation measures how well an organisation is doing with embedding Self- Directed Support into practice. It is a helpful way to check progress, celebrate and evidence what has already been achieved, and identify areas that need to be developed further. 2.10 Gathering honest reflection on strengths and challenges, what we are doing well and what we need to improve on, is extremely useful. We worked with all local stakeholders to undertake the self-evaluation, reviewing how well the Self-Directed Support Framework of Standards is being used and embedded into practice. 2.11 The evaluation findings now underpin our future actions to maintain and strengthen the whole system approach to promoting choice and control for the people we support in North Lanarkshire. Why we decided to evaluate Self-Directed Support 2.12 North Lanarkshire is undergoing significant demographic shifts that are reshaping the landscape of health and social care. In mid-2023, the population stood at 341,890, with a growing proportion of older adults; over 62,500 people (18%) are aged 65 and above, and this number is projected to rise steadily over the coming years. 2.13 At the same time, the population of people aged under 20 is predicted to decrease, placing increasing pressure on services to adapt. There is an urgent need for services to become more sustainable, person-led, and preventative. 2.14 The impact of COVID-19 also continues to be felt, particularly in terms of increased mental health needs, carer stress, and workforce resilience. These challenges are compounded by high levels of deprivation, nearly 47% of North Lanarkshire’s population lives in areas ranked among the most deprived in Scotland, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). 2.15 In response, UHSCNL is committed to delivering services that are: • Person-led: shaped by the needs, choices, and aspirations of individuals. • Rights-based: upholding the legal and human rights of our citizens. • Outcome-focused: delivering meaningful, measurable improvements in people’s lives. 2.16 With the launch of the Self-Directed Support (SDS) National Framework of Standards, we want to ensure that our approach reflects these standards and supports the full implementation of the national guidance. 2.17 To ensure we are delivering on this commitment, we undertook a comprehensive self- evaluation across our services. The purpose was to: • Identify areas of strength where SDS principles are well embedded and hear about the experience and outcomes for people across our communities, our partners and our workforce. • Support a culture of continuous learning and improvement in line with national and local expectations. • Highlight key outcomes and themes for improvement as part of a 3-year action plan. Page 108 of 138
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2.18 This evaluation was a reflective process designed to empower our workforce and enhance the quality of support provided to individuals and families. How we implemented the Self-Evaluation process Who we engaged with 2.19 We engaged directly with supported people, families, carers, workforce, support providers and collaborated with advocacy organisations to ensure their voices were represented. 2.20 We also worked in partnership with our SDS Implementation Group, Carer Organisations and the North Lanarkshire Disability Forum (NLDF) to gather insights from a broad range of stakeholders. 2.21 NLDF captured the views of over 200 members of the community via a social media survey which asked, “What Matters to you?” in the context of choice and control. This has helped us reach the wider community, enhancing the inclusivity and representativeness of our findings. This is important as we develop a plan that promotes a strength-based approach and supports meaningful choice and control. How we engaged participants 2.22 We undertook a comprehensive programme of engagement across North Lanarkshire which included: 2.22.1 Focus groups held across North Lanarkshire’s inhouse support services Seven focus groups were facilitated across North Lanarkshire and explored people’s experiences of the service and the impact of this on their lives. 2.22.2 Tailored events across North Lanarkshire which were attended by social work staff and leaders 2.22.3 Eight events were held and explored the workforce’s views on the implementation of Self-Directed Support 2.22.4 Journey maps were completed with supported people and carers. These maps aimed to capture the lived experiences of people and identify key learning for UHSCNL. This feedback is reflected throughout the plan. In gathering feedback, we engaged with people in a variety of ways including telephone calls (if this was their preference), home visits, and in school. 2.22.5 Feedback from the Evaluation that informed the Carers Strategy We were able to incorporate recent feedback from carers provided through the engagement process to develop North Lanarkshire's Carers Strategy. Sector Networking Events 2.23 Three events were facilitated bringing together our locality teams, provider organisations, and a range of third sector organisations and community resources. 2.24 These events provided a valuable opportunity to connect with voluntary and third sector organisations, fostering stronger partnerships across the sector. In addition to networking, we used the sessions to gather feedback from attendees on the current Page 109 of 138
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approach to SDS in North Lanarkshire. In total we received feedback from 143 attendees. SDS Implementation Group 2.25 We engaged our Implementation group throughout the process, and their insights are reflected in the plan. Questionnaires and surveys 2.26 Structured questionnaires and digital surveys were disseminated across various stakeholder groups, capturing the experiences of: 2.26.1 Adults/Direct Payment Holders in receipt of direct payment via option 1 (38 respondents). Survey explored if people were made aware of all options via self-direct support, rationale for choosing Option 1, whether additional support was accessed to manage direct payments, and how supported people felt by social work throughout the process of Option 1. 2.26.2 Young people transitioning to adult services from school/education including family/carers (20 respondents). Survey explored what school/education setting respondents attended, when the Transitions Team became involved, and input and support around future planning and options of support considered. This survey considered the impact of the transition team at an early stage. 2.26.3 Framework Providers/Commissioned Services (20 respondents). Questionnaire explored providers’ views and experiences of working with social work and supported people in receipt of individual budgets. 2.26.4 Advocacy workers (5 respondents). Questionnaire explored Advocacy workers’ views and experiences of working in partnership with social work. 2.26.5 Supported people and carers via Advocacy (4 respondents). Advocacy workers explored the views of people they were working with in receipt of self-directed support to capture further views and experiences of UHSCNL’s progress and areas of development. 2.26.6 Citizens of North Lanarkshire (228 respondents). North Lanarkshire Disability Forum (NLDF) facilitated a social media survey which supported us to achieve a wider reach and ensure our engagement extends beyond formal services. Most respondents identified themselves as carers or residents of North Lanarkshire (44% respectively) with 12% of respondents being supported people in receipt of self-directed support. How we analysed the findings of the evaluation 2.27 Thematic analysis of the evaluation data was undertaken to determine correlations with the four key drivers for the Self-Directed Support Framework of Standards, which are Supporting People, Organisation, Leadership, and Workforce. The key themes and findings are outlined below. 2.28 Each of the drivers is aligned with specific standards of the framework and outline what good Self-Directed Support practice looks like for everyone, from initial discussions and service commissioning to implementation and improvement. Page 110 of 138
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Insights from Supported People 2.29 Flexibility and Choice: Individuals accessing Direct Payments (Option 1) continue to report positive experiences in exercising choice and control. Direct Payment holders reported to feeling confident in the flexible use of the budget. This reflects growing confidence in personalised approaches and the flexible use of resources to meet individual needs. 2.30 Information Gaps: While progress has been made in strengthening information pathways, there remains a need to ensure consistency and clarity in how Self- Directed Support (SDS) options are communicated. Feedback highlighted that the 4 options are not consistently explored with people in the detail they should be. Enhancing public-facing materials will support more informed decision-making. 2.31 Confidence and Decision-Making: Feedback indicates that while systems have evolved, some individuals still experience delays and uncertainty in decision-making. Continued efforts to streamline communication and reduce duplication will be key to improving trust and responsiveness. 2.32 Meaningful Engagement: The evaluation highlights the importance of inclusive and person-centred engagement. People reported that when they felt heard and involved, outcomes were more positive. However, experiences remain variable, further emphasising the need to embed relational practice more consistently. 2.33 The right support at the right time: Early intervention and accessible advice are critical to achieving better outcomes, particularly during key transitions. A proactive approach that prioritises timely support can reduce reliance on formal services and promote independence. These were consistetly identified as key factors in achieving positive outcomes. Workforce Reflections 2.34 Communication and Clarity: Feedback from operational teams suggests that greater consistency is needed in how strategic priorities and key information are communicated across the system. Strengthening internal communication will support alignment and shared understanding. 2.35 Capacity and Pressure: While staff retention has improved, capacity challenges remain. Competing demands continue to impact the ability of practitioners to engage in reflective, relationship-based practice. The evolving operating model offers an opportunity to embed more sustainable and person-centred ways of working. 2.36 Time for Reflection: Practitioners have expressed a need for dedicated time to reflect and develop practice in line with SDS principles. Supporting this will be key to embedding continuous improvement and enhancing professional confidence. 2.37 Strong Commitment to getting it right for people: A strong commitment to delivering high-quality, person-centred support was consistently evident across the workforce. This reflects a shared ethos of getting it right for people and ensuring meaningful outcomes. 2.38 Enhancing Community Connections: Locality teams report increased connection to their communities, supported by collaborative events and networking opportunities. These have fostered stronger relationships and a deeper understanding of local needs, contributing to more responsive and integrated support. Page 111 of 138
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Organisational Considerations 2.39 Processes and Tools: Feedback highlighted that the Guided Self-Assessment (GSA) system is outdated and there is a lack of confidence in the effectiveness of this tool. 2.40 Mosaic: The Mosaic system is in early stages of development, with ongoing work to build individual budget workflows. This was highlighted in the context of multiple changes and the time to embed the new system whilst managing daily operational demands. 2.41 Managing change: The organisation is navigating multiple concurrent changes. While these are recognised as necessary and aligned with long-term improvement goals, continued engagement with the workforce will be essential to support adaptation and minimise disruption. 2.42 Provider Engagement: The number of providers on the framework presents challenges for local teams. Strengthening engagement mechanisms will be key to ensuring meaningful collaboration and effective service delivery. Leadership and Culture 2.43 Risk: A culture of risk aversion was identified as a potential barrier to innovation and flexibility. People reported a fear of making mistakes in the context of risk. While there is a clear appetite for more personalised approaches, building confidence in decision- making and creating safe spaces for innovation will be key to unlocking creative solutions. 2.44 Information Flow: Feedback suggests that strategic information is not always effectively cascaded across all levels of the organisation. Strengthening communication channels will support greater alignment and shared understanding of priorities. 2.45 Strengthening Local Decision-Making- There is evidence of a positive shift towards increased autonomy and decision-making at the locality level. However, some operational processes—particularly around financial reporting—are perceived as slowing progress. Streamlining these processes will be essential to fully realise the benefits of local empowerment. 2.46 Stakeholder feedback reflects a strong commitment to responsive and flexible support. Key Themes and Learning from SDS Self-Evaluation 2.47 A central theme emerging across all aspects of the self-evaluation is the critical importance of relationship-based practice. This was highlighted in feedback from supported people, carers, stakeholders, and practitioners. This inconsistency impacts the ability of staff to build meaningful, trusting relationships—essential for co-producing accurate, person-centred assessments, support plans, and reviews. 2.47 An emphasis on process-driven assessments can limit opportunities for therapeutic engagement, reducing the potential benefits of sustained relationships between workers and supported individuals. Page 112 of 138
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2.48 The self-evaluation highlights strong implementation of several SDS standards, particularly those aligned with the Supported People and Workforce drivers. Standards relating to choice and control (Standard 1), flexible support (Standard 4), and personalisation (Standard 5) are being delivered effectively, with individuals accessing Direct Payments (Option 1) reporting confidence in managing their budgets and experiencing positive outcomes. 2.49 There is also clear evidence of relationship-based practice (Standard 2) and a committed workforce ethos that reflects the principles of shared decision-making and autonomy (Standard 6). 2.50 Areas for development include standards linked to Organisation and Leadership, such as information and communication (Standard 3), where inconsistencies in how SDS options are presented were noted, and systems and tools (Standard 10), with concerns raised about the Guided Self-Assessment and Mosaic systems. 2.51 Leadership and culture (Standard 13) also require strengthening to reduce risk aversion and improve strategic communication. 2.52 Importantly, Standard 12 – local decision-making and accountability – shows promising progress, with evidence of increased autonomy at locality level. However, operational processes, particularly around financial reporting, are perceived as barriers to fully realising the benefits of empowered local practice. Addressing these areas will be key to achieving full implementation and consistency across the system. Next Steps – Supporting Full Implementation of SDS Standards 2.53 Launch of Improvement Plan - A comprehensive improvement plan has being developed and will be launched early 2026 to clearly outline our actions and intentions in delivering the SDS Framework of Standards. This will provide structure and accountability as we move towards full implementation. 2.54 Development Plan Informed by Learning- A refreshed development plan will be created to reflect the insights and feedback gathered through the self-evaluation process, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with our new operating model. 2.55 Finalise and Roll Out Mosaic - Completion of the individual budget screens following assessment/review within Mosaic will support transparency and consistency in practice, decision making, and budget management. A system-wide training programme will be rolled out to ensure staff are confident in using the new functionality. 2.56 Progress Towards One GSA - Work will continue to reach agreement on the use of a single GSA (Guided Self-Assessment), promoting consistency and shared understanding across the partnership. Conclusion 2.57 Self-directed support remains the fundamental approach embedded throughout the work of the Health and Social Care Partnership. By continuing to tailor responses to individual needs and enabling people to exercise choice and control we will remain responsive to the challenges posed by demographic shifts, the rising cost of living, workforce pressures, and the shared demands across the system. This personalised approach is not only central to our values but also essential to building a sustainable and responsive system for people living across our communities. Page 113 of 138
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2.58 The feedback from our self-evaluation highlights our strong commitment to implementing the SDS Framework of Standards and demonstrates success across many areas. Examples of early interventions, good conversations, the impact of relationship-based practice, positive outcomes, and empowering experiences are evident throughout, reflecting the meaningful impact SDS continues to have on individuals and communities. 2.59 The learning and feedback on improvement areas are crucial to shape our implementation plan. 2.60 As we progress towards full implementation of the SDS Improvement Plan, it is essential to acknowledge the financial pressures currently facing the service, including a significant overspend within the SDS budget. 2.61 The Partnership remains committed to delivering a responsive and sustainable plan that addresses these challenges, while ensuring our approach continues to uphold the principles of choice, control, and person-led support. 2.62 Our focus is on ensuring that resources are used flexibly and effectively to meet individual needs, and that we continue to get it right for the people of North Lanarkshire. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Full choice control and participation for individuals. 3.2 Confident, autonomous workforce. 3.3 Full implementation of the Improvement Plan. 4. Supporting documentation N/A Diane Fraser Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) Page 114 of 138
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Balancing available resources with increasing demand remains a key challenge in delivering Self-Directed Support. The service is currently experiencing a significant overspend within the SDS budget, reflecting the growing complexity and volume of need across our communities. In response, the Partnership is implementing a new operating model that prioritises timely and proportionate support for those with the greatest need. This approach aims to support local decision-making and promote the flexible and imaginative use of resources, ensuring that we continue to uphold the principles of choice, control, and person-led support while working towards financial sustainability. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Page 115 of 138
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Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☒ No ☐ Page 116 of 138
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Adult Care and Social Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref CR/SF Date 11/11/25 Adult Social Care Performance Report – Quarter 1 2025/26 From Claire Rae, Chief Officer, North Lanarkshire HSCP E-mail Claire.Rae@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk Telephone 01698 858143 1. Background 1.1 The Chief Officer has joint quarterly performance review meetings with the Chief Executive of NHS Lanarkshire and the Chief Executive of North Lanarkshire Council. These meetings are supported by a Chief Executive Performance Framework comprising a range of performance measures from across both health and social work systems, including relevant targets and trajectories. 1.2 Based on a traffic-light system there are areas for improvement identified within the performance framework each quarter for those that are flagged as Red or Amber. The performance review meetings are used as a means for jointly agreeing corrective actions. Executive Summary The purpose of the report is to provide an update to the Committee on the performance of key areas of activity within Adult Health & Social Care for the period 01st April 2025 to 30th June 2025, Quarter 1 2025/26. Recommendations It is recommended that the Adult Care and Social Work Committee: (1) Endorse the improvement actions included within Appendix 2 of the report; and (2) Acknowledge the performance of key areas of activity within Appendix 1 of the report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning Programme of Work Resilient People Item 6 Page 117 of 138
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1.3 Information from these performance reviews has been supplemented with additional performance information below to offer the committee a wider overview of performance across some key areas of adult social care delivery. 2. Report 2.1 The purpose of the report is to provide an update to the Committee on wider performance of key areas of adult social care delivery, in addition to the performance areas for improvement that have been identified as part of the Chief Executive Quarterly Performance Review, for the period 01st April 2025 to 30th June 2025, Quarter 1 2025/26. 2.2 Mosaic, the new Social Work Information System, went live on Monday 16th June 2025. This requires that all standardised reporting that has been provided by the Performance & Planning Team has to be rebuilt, and will require to be tested with live data and verified by users of those reports. 2.3 In addition, due to data recording on SWIS ceasing prior to the go-live for Mosaic, data and information from multiple sources is required to produce standardised reporting. This includes data from ELMS2 for equipment and adaptations and the Dynamic Scheduling Tool for Home Care, both systems that have also recently gone live, with reporting still in development to reflect the new recording processes and subject to testing and validation. 2.4 Whilst every effort is being made to maintain continuity of reporting, the ability to provide data and information will be impacted in the short term and there is some disruption to the Social Care reporting contained within the Chief Executives Scorecard. Some metrics in Appendix 1 have no value for quarter 1 2025/26 and are not available as the reports that generate the performance information are still being built, tested and validated by users using the live data from Mosaic. 2.6 Areas for improvement and planned actions are agreed and developed on an exception basis (i.e., for those indicators which are amber or red, based on tolerance thresholds). These are detailed as Appendix 2 of this report. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success are contained within Appendix 1 of this report. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1: Adult Social Care Dashboard 4.2 Appendix 2: Areas for Improvement 01st April 2025 to 30th June 2025, Quarter 1 2025/26. Claire Rae Chief Officer North HSCP Page 118 of 138
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 119 of 138
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 120 of 138
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Appendix 1 – Adult Social Care Dashboard PLEASE NOTE FOR ALL INDICATORS UPWARDS ARROWS DENOTE POSITIVE PERFORMANCE Ref. KPI Target 2025-26 2024/25 Q1 2024/25 Q2 2024/25 Q3 2024/25 Q4 2025/26 Q1 Performance Compared to Previous Quarter Performance Compared to Same Quarter Previous Year Current Performance 2.15 Assistive Technology - Number Of People With Technology (0-17 yrs) 1,452 35 36 34 33 22 2.16 Assistive Technology - Number Of People With Technology (18-64yrs) 632 617 627 622 270 2.17 Assistive Technology - Number Of People With Technology (65+) 905 860 893 912 673 2.18 Reablement - Number Of People Completing Reablement Process 2000 (500 per quarter) 527 987 1387 1788 317 ... 2.19 Reablement - % Of New or Increased Home Support Packages Which Are Reablement 70% 61.1% 57.1% 56.5% 63.0% 62.4% 2.2 Reablement - % Of People With No or Reduced Home Support Service Required At End Of Process 70% 62.6% 58.1% 63.6% 62.5% 65.3% 2.21 Balance Of Care - % Of People (Age 65+), inclusive of SDS (service users aged 65+ with a >£10K budget) 45% 48.2% 46.4% 48.9% … 2.X IRT - Referral to Treatment within 12 weeks, excluding Major Equipment 90% 81.1% 81.4% 87.0% 89.9% 2.X HAT – Service users where HAT service ends within 1/2 days from Assessment to service completion 8.9% 6.7% 6.5% 7.0% … … 2.X HAT – Service users with no further service required on completion of HAT 61.9% 65.5% 62.3% 55.2% … … 2.22 IEAS - % Deliveries Achieved Within 7 Working Days Quarterly 80% 87.1% 65.8% 60.1% 73.4% 4.2 Complaints Processed Within Timescale (NLC) 85% 81.1% (Stage 1) 87.5% (Stage 2) 84.6% (Stage 1) 63.6% (Stage 2) 90.3% (Stage 1) 71.4% (Stage 2) 60.0% (Stage 1) 76.9% (Stage 2) 92.1% (Stage 1) 76.5% (Stage 2) 4.3 Care Home Placements At End Of Quarter - Per 1000 Popn 65+ 24 22.1 22.2 22.0 21.9 22.1 Page 121 of 138
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4.4 Care Home Placements At End Of Quarter - Per 1000 Popn 75+ 50 46.3 46.6 46.1 45.4 46.1 4.5 Care Home - Average Length of Stay 865 708 789 966 776 735 4.6 Number Of People With Self Directed Support 1,000 2054 2114 2119 2214 2193 4.7 Number Of People With A Direct Payment 240 355 365 377 395 356 7.X Conflict of Interest 80% 72.0% 76.0% 83.7% 86.5% 83.1% 7.X Data Protection Essentials 80% 73.0% 77.0% 83.6% 86.4% 81.1% 7.X Employee Code of Conduct 80% 87.0% 87.0% 81.2% 84.5% 78.4% 7.X Information security awareness 80% 72.0% 75.0% 82.9% 85.7% 81.6% 7.X Introduction to Risk Management 80% 100.0% 70.0% 78.4% 82.2% 79.2% 7.X Prevent 80% 66.0% 70.0% 78.4% 82.1% 79.8% 7.X Records and information management 80% 64.0% 67.0% 75.8% 79.3% 75.8% 7.21 % Of Adult Protection Referrals Passed To Care Team For Investigation 20% 24.7% 30.6% 34.7% 35.7% Not available 7.23 Adult Protection - % Of Referrals With Decision Within 5 Days 60% 80.3% 83.6% 82.5% 81.5% Not available 7.24 % of Adult Protection Referrals Which Did Not Go On To Investigation Or Other Service 50% 66.0% 57.4% 56.4% 53.4% Not available 9.4 Breakeven Position - Projected Outturn (NLC) >=0 £0.059m underspend £1.270m underspend £1.396m projected underspend £6.181m underspend -£5.939m overspend ... ... ... 9.6 Sickness Absence (NLC) - days lost per person 9.22 3.48 6.34 9.52 12.92 3.35 Page 122 of 138
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Appendix 2 – Areas for Improvement 1. Assistive Technology Target 2025/26 2024/25 Q4 2025/26 Q1 Performance Compared to Previous Quarter Performance Compared to Same Quarter Previous Year RAG Status Assistive Technology - Number Of People With Technology (0-17 yrs) 1452 33 22 RED Assistive Technology - Number Of People With Technology (18-64yrs) 622 270 RED Assistive Technology - Number Of People With Technology (65+) 912 673 RED Narrative & Corrective Action This indicator is currently RAG-rated red. However, the significant decrease in the reported number of individuals with Assistive Technology does not reflect an actual reduction in provision. Instead, it is due to a substantial change in how the data is recorded. Previously, the figure of approximately 1,500 recipients was derived using a methodology developed several years ago. With the transition to using ELMS2 and Mosaic, this legacy method is no longer appropriate, as it does not align with current data recording practices. While ELMS2 is now the primary data source, it must be linked with data held in Mosaic for reporting purposes. Additionally, historical data remains in legacy systems such as SWIS and MICES. Our initial analysis revealed that not all recipients of Assistive Technology are captured in the ELMS2 data, and several cases have been identified where individuals receiving Assistive Technology are missing from ELMS2. It is unclear whether this is due to issues with data migration, and further work is underway to assess the scale of the problem. We have also identified that individuals receiving Assistive Technology through Self-Directed Support (SDS) budgets are unlikely to be recorded in ELMS2, despite receiving equipment. For internal reporting, the legacy methodology consistently identified around 1,500 recipients. A new method has now been developed to interpret ELMS2 data, resulting in a revised figure of approximately 970. This new approach excludes deceased individuals and care home residents; groups that could not be reliably excluded using the legacy data. However, this introduces challenges in terms of comparability and accuracy, as we know that some recipients are still not captured in the data. To improve the reliability and completeness of reporting, several actions are required. A priority action is to ensure that IEAS records include either the SWIS/Mosaic number or CHI as a mandatory data field. External reporting requires the ability to index and match individuals across multiple services, which depends on a unique identifier. Currently, ELMS2 does not mandate inclusion of SWIS/Mosaic or CHI numbers, and addressing this gap is essential. Further work is also needed to understand how Assistive Technology provided through SDS is recorded internally, and to clarify what should be included or excluded in future reporting. Page 123 of 138
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2. Reablement and Rehabilitation Target 2025/26 2024/25 Q4 2025/26 Q1 Performance Compared to Previous Quarter Performance Compared to Same Quarter Previous Year RAG Status Reablement - Number Of People Completing Reablement Process 2000 (500 per quarter) 1788 317 ... RED Reablement - % Of New or Increased Home Support Packages Which Are Reablement 70% 63.0% 62.4% RED Reablement - % Of People With No or Reduced Home Support Service Required At End Of Process 70% 62.5% 65.3% RED IEAS - % Deliveries Achieved Within 7 Working Days Quarterly 80% 73.4% RED Narrative & Corrective Action The indicators for Reablement presented in the CE Scorecard have not met the targeted levels of performance. During 2023/24, the number of people completing the Reablement process increased, however in 2024/25 there has been a reversal of this trend. The percentage of new or increased Home Support packages that are Reablement is relatively stable in a range, around but below, the targeted level of 70%. However, the percentage of people with no, or reduced Home Support at the end of the Reablement process has failed to meet the targeted level of performance for some time. Home Support Redesign The Home Support Redesign Programme is focussed on Home Support that achieves individual outcomes for people using the service and their families. The redesign is based on core principles that are aligned with B2B, SDS and developments in Hospital Flow. It is supported by several products that have been produced to progress the work, including service specifications, a workforce profile and an analysis of demand/capacity data. The proposal is for a “Living Well” service that provides Home Support to achieve individual outcomes for the people using the service and a distinct “Assessment & Planning” service, to include Rehabilitation and Reablement services, ensuring that people receive a holistic assessment of their need and are provided with the most appropriate services to meet the individual outcomes. IEAS - % Deliveries Achieved Within 7 Working Days Quarterly Performance improved in Q4, rising to 73.4% from 60.1% in Q3. While this marks a positive trend, it remains below the 80% target. The improvement reflects ongoing efforts to embed service transformation and fully implement the new priority-based delivery framework. Since December 2024, the service has operated under a four-level prioritisation model, which has shifted focus toward higher-priority deliveries (P1 and P2). Consequently, P3 orders have significantly reduced, and backlogs in lower-priority categories are now being addressed in a more structured and consistent manner. The service continues to engage with teams to support appropriate ordering and effective signposting. Service capacity remains under pressure due to vacancies, absence and holiday cover, impacting on the ability to process new orders. Despite these operational challenges, the service continues to advance its transformational agenda. ELMS2 is now live and in use, however there are ongoing refinements in process aimed at improving reporting capabilities and system integration. The availability of ELMS2 data supports the development of new KPIs that align with the priority model. However, as noted in the earlier commentary on Assistive Technology, significant work is still required to ensure that data recording processes enable linked reporting across systems, particularly the recording of a Mosaic ID, or CHI as a unique reference for index/match of data across systems. Page 124 of 138
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Adult Care and Social Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref CR/MD/PH/LH Date 11/11/25 Revenue & Capital Budget Monitoring Report: Adult Social Care Period 06: 01/04/2025 to 12/09/2025 From Morag Dendy, Chief Officer (Planning, Performance and Quality Assurance) E-mail hendryp@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Paula Hendry, Business Finance Manager, 07471321768 Executive Summary This report provides a summary of the revenue financial performance of the Health & Social Care Partnership (H&SCP) – North Lanarkshire (Adult Social Care & Housing) and the financial performance of the Social Work capital programme. The report incorporates the period 1 April 2025 to 12 September 2025 (Period 06) and includes projected outturn forecasts for the financial year ended 31 March 2026, with major outturn variances highlighted and explained per the approved Financial Regulations. H&SCP – North Lanarkshire (Adult Social Care & Housing) has a gross revenue expenditure budget of £281.939m and is currently projecting an overspend of £4.973m. This adverse variance is predominantly the result of overspends relating to Overtime, Independent Care Homes and ‘Care at Home’ costs, all of which are partially offset by underspends in relation to vacancies, mileage and less than anticipated spend in equipment and adaptations. This overspend represents a positive movement of £0.964m since the previous committee report. The movement is predominantly the result of reductions in equipment and adaptation spend, Care Homes and slight favourable movements in staffing, mileage and admin costs. Any overspend presented for the financial year ended 31 March 2026, will be fully funded by IJB reserves. The Social Work capital programme has a total budget of £2.364m and is anticipated to outturn with a balanced position. Recommendations It is recommended that the Adult Care and Social Work Committee: (1) Acknowledge the revenue financial outturn position; and (2) Acknowledge the capital financial outturn position. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Item 7 Page 125 of 138
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1. Background 1.1 The Council’s approved Financial Regulations require the Chief Executive to remain within the approved budgetary provision, and to report all significant deviations - defined as the higher of £100,000 or 5% - within budget monitoring reports. Where significant deviations are identified, the Chief Executive must provide explanatory commentary, outline the action required to rectify such deviations and where relevant, must also highlight the impact this has on other budget headings. 2. Report Revenue: Summary of Financial Position 2.1 The Council approved its General Revenue Fund Budget on 20 February 2025, and the Integration Joint Board (IJB) approved its Financial Plan on 19 March 2025. The approved Gross Expenditure Budget for the H&SCP – NL (Adult Social Care and Housing) is £281.939m. The current 2025/26 budget incorporates £10.385m of savings for Adult Social Care. 2.2 The overall projected outturn position of the Service is an overspend of £4.973m. Appendices one to four provide further information in respect of this position. Further information regarding savings is included at Appendix 4. 2.3 Any overspend presented for the financial year ended 31 March 2026, will be fully funded by IJB reserves. Revenue: Analysis of Significant Variances 2.4 Within Employee costs, the Service currently anticipates an underspend of £0.918m. This is in relation to slippage linked to the recruitment of posts across the Service, which is being partially offset by higher than anticipated home support overtime costs. 2.5 Supplies and Services is anticipated to be underspent by £0.261m. This is predominately due to reduced spend in the equipment and adaptations budget. 2.6 Transport and Plant is anticipated to be underspent by £0.166m. This is mainly due to less than anticipated costs in relation to staff mileage and vehicle contract hire costs. 2.7 Administration costs are anticipated to be underspent by £0.038m. This is across all general admin costs across the Service and is partially offset by an overspend in printing and postage costs. 2.8 Payments to Other Bodies and Transfer Payments are detailed in Appendix 2. This expenditure accounts for £177.430m of the annual budget and is forecast to have an in-year net overspend of £6.333m (3.6%). This is primarily in relation to anticipated spend in ‘Care at Home’ and Independent Care Homes. These projections are demand led and are based on full year costs for both current clients and those anticipated, therefore projections will alter as the year progresses. Updates will be provided in future reports. Revenue: Earmarked Reserves 2.9 The Integration Joint Board have total reserves of £25.278m, for specific Adult Social Care commitments as detailed in Appendix 3. Page 126 of 138
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2.10 The Service intends to utilise £2.516m of reserves during the year for specific projects and initiatives. As previously stated, any overspend for the financial year will be fully funded from reserves, therefore a year-end drawdown of £4.973m is anticipated. Overall, a total of £7.490m of reserves are expected to be used during 2025/26. 2.11 The remaining £17.788m will be carried forward to 2026/27. Of this, £7.008m has been assessed by the Service and set aside for specific projects and initiatives as detailed in Appendix 3. This leaves a balance of £10.780m, specifically for ‘social care demand risk’, which has been earmarked to offset any budget pressures, including shortfalls in savings, and any unanticipated increase in demand. 2.12 All expenditure to be met from earmarked reserves are excluded from the outturn position. Revenue: Savings 2.13 The Financial Plan of the Health & Social Care Partnership was approved by the Integrated Joint Board in March 2025 which identified an overall cost pressure for 2025/26 of £14.729m of which £10.386m relates to Adult Social Care. 2.14 To address this cost burden the Service has developed a savings delivery plan which aims to deliver this saving value in 2025/26, details of which, and progress made to date are outlined in Appendix 4. 2.15 Updates on these savings will be provided in future reports; however, Members should note that the current projected overspend (referenced at 2.2 above) should reduce as progress towards the achievement of these savings is made. Capital: Summary of Financial Position and Analysis of Significant Variances 2.16 The Council approved its new 5-year Strategic Capital Investment Programme on 14 March 2024. Financial Year 2025/26 is the second year of the programme, with £2.200m approved for Social Work for the current year. Net reprofiling from 2024/25, results in a revised budget of £2.364m, as demonstrated by Appendix 5. 2.17 The Integrated Equipment and Adaptation (IEAS) capital programme funds equipment for individuals and adaptations to properties to allow those individuals to live independently at home. 2.18 The Service currently anticipates a balanced position. There remain uncertainties in respect of demand and complexity of need and therefore this budget will continue to be monitored closely, and any forecast movements will be highlighted in future reports. 2.19 Appendix 6 outlines the Service’s total capital budget, outturn position and current contractual commitments. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Service operates within approved budget resources. 4. Supporting documentation Page 127 of 138
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Appendix 1 Revenue – Subjective Analysis Appendix 2 Revenue – Payments to Other Bodies & Transfer Payments Analysis Appendix 3 Revenue – Status of Earmarked Reserves Appendix 4 Revenue – Savings Monitoring Appendix 5 Capital – Budget Movements 2025/26 Appendix 6 Capital – Summary Expenditure by Thematic Category Morag Dendy Chief Officer (Planning, Performance and Quality Assurance) Page 128 of 138
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Adult Social Care management team will continue to review and implement management action and initiatives, with the aim of remaining within approved budget resources. This action will include vacancy management, curtailment of non- essential expenditure, and maximising income. This report has been prepared by service-based Finance personnel in consultation with budget managers, in accordance with the Financial Regulations. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 129 of 138
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? All activities undertaken by the Council are subject to risk, and in acknowledging the Council’s approved Risk Management Strategy, Services manage these as part of their overall corporate and service planning processes. The demands and restrictions resulting from Covid, and the current economic climate has the potential to impact upon the Council’s ability to provide quality services within approved budget levels. The Service continues to face increasing demand pressures for provision within the home support, ‘care at home’ and independent care home arenas. To mitigate these pressures the Service reviews and considers data and trends in relation to current and anticipated demand on an ongoing basis to underpin projections of need and cost, and to agree appropriate operational and management action. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Page 130 of 138
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 131 of 138
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APPENDIX 1 [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] EMPLOYEE COSTS 91,370,983 90,452,213 918,770 FAV 1.0% 141,227 Anticipated underspend mainly as a result slippage in relation to recruitment across the Service. This is partially offset by higher than anticipated costs in relation to home support overtime costs. PROPERTY COSTS 3,609,510 3,631,091 (21,581) ADV (0.6%) 19,796 Dilapidations costs in relation to McGregor Road (Cumbernauld Locality Support Service) partially offset by the resultant in-year underspends across rents and utilities as a result of the Service moving out of McGregor Road. SUPPLIES & SERVICES 6,815,628 6,554,612 261,016 FAV 3.8% 211,076 Underspends across the Service in all Supplies and Services budgets, including equipment and adaptations TRANSPORT & PLANT 2,308,312 2,141,962 166,350 FAV 7.2% 45,309 Projected underspends in relation to Staff mileage and Vehicle Contract Hires ADMINISTRATION COSTS 375,611 336,931 38,680 FAV 10.3% 38,681 Anticipated overspend in relation to 'Adare' printing and postage costs, fully offset by underspends across all other Admin budgets PAYMENTS TO OTHER BODIES 62,334,921 65,445,346 (3,110,425) ADV (5.0%) 734,729 Please refer to Appendix 2 for analysis TRANSFER PAYMENTS 115,095,652 118,318,601 (3,222,949) ADV (2.8%) (315,656) Please refer to Appendix 2 for analysis CAPITAL FINANCING COSTS 0 0 0 0.0% 0 REVENUE FINANCING COSTS 0 0 0 0.0% 0 OTHER EXPENDITURE 28,858 13,163 15,695 FAV 54.4% 9,695 Minimal underspend TOTAL EXPENDITURE 281,939,475 286,893,919 (4,954,444) ADV (1.8%) 884,856 NLC CONTRIBUTION (217,357,670) (217,357,670) 0 0.0% 0 NLC CONTRIBUTION - HOUSING (2,573,453) (2,573,453) 0 0.0% 0 INCOME FROM HEALTH (59,384,127) (59,401,005) 16,878 FAV (0.0%) (370) FEES AND CHARGES (1,470,798) (1,423,286) (47,512) ADV 3.2% 60,939 Lower than anticipated income in relation to charges for Integrated Day Services OTHER LOCAL AUTHORITIES 0 0 0 0.0% (0) BUDGETED USE OF IJB RESERVES 0 0 0 0.0% 0 OTHER INCOME (1,153,427) (1,164,620) 11,193 FAV (1.0%) 19,570 Overrecovery in relation to returned private sectors housing grants INCOME (281,939,475) (281,920,033) (19,441) ADV 0.0% 80,138 NET EXPENDITURE 0 4,973,886 (4,973,885) ADV 0.0% 964,995 anticipated Drawdown from IJB Reserves 4,973,885 Balance 0 [4] NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Subjective Analysis Period 06 (01 April 2025 - 12 September 2025) Adult Social Care & Housing - INTEGRATED CATEGORY ANNUAL BUDGET PROJECTED OUTTURN PROJECTED OUTTURN VARIANCE % MOVEMENT VARIANCE ANALYSIS Page 132 of 138
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APPENDIX 2 [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] Care at Home (SDS Framework 1 & 2) 115,095,652 118,317,839 (3,222,188) ADV (2.8%) Demand led activity. Independent Care Homes 48,938,868 52,541,406 (3,602,538) ADV (7.4%) Demand led activity. Payments to NHS Lanarkshire 2,339,985 2,355,900 (15,915) ADV (0.7%) Position reflects anticipated in year payments Other Local Authorities - General 133,467 116,007 17,460 FAV 13.1% Position reflects anticipated in-year demand Voluntary Organisations & Payments to Other Bodies - Gen 8,818,886 8,477,201 341,685 FAV 3.9% Position reflects anticipated in-year demand Locality Flexibility 218,068 146,521 71,547 FAV 32.8% Position reflects anticipated Locality demand Private Sector Housing Grants 1,763,012 1,667,325 95,687 FAV 5.4% Position reflects anticipated in-year demand Medical Fees 122,635 141,737 (19,102) ADV (15.6%) Position reflects Service's approach to absence management Agency Fees 0 10 (10) ADV 0.0% Position reflects anticipated in-year payments Other 0 0 0 0.0% TOTAL EXPENDITURE 177,430,573 183,763,947 (6,333,374) ADV (3.6%) [4] NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Payments to Other Bodies & Transfer Payments Analysis Period 06 (01 April 2025 - 12 September 2025) Adult Social Care & Housing - INTEGRATED CATEGORY ANNUAL BUDGET PROJECTED OUTTURN PROJECTED OUTTURN VARIANCE % VARIANCE ANALYSIS Page 133 of 138
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APPENDIX 3 Carers Act 2018 - Support 2,603,618 176,052 2,427,565 0 2,603,617 Social Care Demand risk 16,469,053 5,688,963 10,780,090 0 16,469,053 Tech Improvements - SWIS 84,674 84,674 0 0 84,674 Tech Improvements - Comm Alarms 230,052 123,000 107,052 0 230,052 Tech Improvements - Home Scheduling System 3,331,742 341,667 2,990,075 0 3,331,742 MH 2 NL10s 149,374 0 149,374 0 149,374 Cost of Living Helpline 136,688 136,688 0 0 136,689 Home Support resilience 576,966 86,923 490,043 0 576,966 Staff Training Academy "grow your own" 704,161 313,621 390,540 0 704,161 MHO Building Capacity Funding 388,337 95,595 292,742 0 388,337 Statutory Appropriate Adults 160,738 0 160,738 0 160,738 Participation & Engagement Locality 6,000 5,859 141 0 6,000 Sessional - School summer placements 127,890 127,890 0 0 127,890 The Winter Planning & Enhanced supports Business Case 309,293 309,293 0 0 309,294 TOTAL 25,278,586 7,490,225 17,788,361 0 25,278,586 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Status of Earmarked Reserves Period 06 (01 April 2025 - 12 September 2025) Adult Social Care & Housing - INTEGRATED TOTALDESCRIPTION OF EARMARKED RESOURCE Approved Reserve Total 2025/26 2026/27 No Longer Required Page 134 of 138
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APPENDIX 4 £ £ £ £ £ 1 Home Support: Home Support re-design which will include the introduction of the dynamic scheduling tool to support the process of streamlining shift patterns alongside service provision. The re-design will further develop the enabling approach as the operating model. 2,838,245 0 2,838,245 2,838,245 0 2 Independent Care Homes: Focus the strategic direction to reduce both the length of stay in care homes and the number of people being placed. 4,709,274 1,106,736 3,602,538 3,602,538 0 3 Care at Home: A review of the guided self-assessment process to align with a more strategic assessment and planning practice. 2,838,245 0 2,838,245 2,838,245 0 TOTAL 10,385,764 1,106,736 9,279,028 9,279,028 0 10.66% 89.34% 89.34% 0.00% Delivered Gap Replacement Revised-Gap Value Deliverable All gaps are partially funded from in-year underspends and balance will be funded in 2025.26 from IJB reserves Commentary NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Savings monitoring Period 06 (01 April 2025 - 12 September 2025) Adult Social Care & Housing - INTEGRATED Value APPROVED SAVINGS REPLACEMENT SAVING / FUNDING Savings Gap Reasons for Savings Gap DESCRIPTION Revised Savings GapRef. DESCRIPTION OF APPROVED SAVING Target Value Page 135 of 138
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APPENDIX 5 Approved: Year 2 budget (5 year Capital Program 2024/25 to 2028/29) 2,200,000 Reprofiling from 2024/25 164,472 Included in opening budget Social Work Key Ambition Integrated equipment & adaptations REVISED CAPTIAL BUDGET 2025/26 2,364,472 0 0 0 Theme NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Capital Budget Monitoring Report - Budget Movements 2024/25 Period 06 (01 April 2025 - 12 September 2025) Social Work Capital Programme BUDGET MOVEMENTS 2025/26 £ Period Division Thematic Category Page 136 of 138
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APPENDIX 6 Social Work: Integrated Equipment and Adaptations 2,364,472 481,423 600,584 1,763,888 2,364,472 0 TOTAL 2,364,472 481,423 600,584 1,763,888 2,364,472 0 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Capital Budget Monitoring Report - Summary Expenditure by Thematic Category Period 06 (01 April 2025 - 12 September 2025) Social Work Capital Programme UNCOMMITTED FINAL OUTTURN OUTTURN VARIANCETheme BUDGET ACTUAL COMMITTED Page 137 of 138
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