Agenda item

Report from the Assistant Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

1.    That Cabinet receives the report and considers the following recommendations:

                        i.         That the Safer Rotherham Partnership (SRP) gives consideration to rolling out a targeted learning and development offer/campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery, how to spot the signs, risks and how to raise concerns and make referrals:

a)  to front-line staff across key agencies;

b)  to elected members;

c)  to the general public and targeted business such as letting agencies (commercial and residential).

                       ii.         That the SRP gives consideration to mapping the local modern slavery landscape to identify high risk industries and hot spots (using the example of Bristol City Council).

                     iii.         That consideration is given to establishing an RMBC Modern Slavery Internal Governance Group including representation from services who may encounter modern slavery (for example, Procurement, Licensing, Environmental Health, Training Standards, Neighbourhood teams, Social Care and Housing).

                     iv.         That consideration is given to how young adults at risk or experiencing modern slavery are safeguarded during the transition from children to adult services and are age assessed appropriately.

                      v.         That consideration is given to developing referral pathways to ensure that modern slavery victims (both adult and child) have access to appropriate support (housing, advocacy, mental health support) on a timely basis.

                     vi.         That consideration is given to re-launching the Strategic Partnership information sharing group at the earliest opportunity to improve the way that agencies can share data and intelligence, including examining how IT systems can work better together.

                    vii.         That consideration is given to widening the levels of investigation and auditing of contracts procured by the Council to focus on the ‘layers’ of sub-contractors, including binding specifications to audit or ‘dip sample’ contracts along the supply chain.

                  viii.         That consideration is given to how the Procurement Team can engage with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) Supply Chain Advisor to improve processes, joint working and awareness.

                     ix.         That consideration be given to allowing victim advocates to make representations to Housing Assessment Panels on behalf of victims of modern slavery.

2.    That Cabinet formally consider its response to the above recommendations within two months of its receipt, in accordance with the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

3.    That the recommendations as approved, be submitted to the Safer Rotherham Partnership for dissemination to the South Yorkshire Modern Slavery Partnership for consideration and response.

Consideration was given to the report to outline the outcomes and findings of the spotlight review into modern slavery. The review was prompted following the Council’s adoption of the Charter against Modern Slavery, to examine the effectiveness of partnership interventions that aimed to tackle modern slavery in Rotherham.

Councillor Clark advised that there was an innovative approach to this spotlight review which was an overview rather than in depth analysis. The key challenges faced were discussed with partners in dealing with this issue and explored what was working well and exchanged ideas on areas for improvement. The Cabinet Member, Officers and partners were thanked for their openness in responding to the enquiries. The Board was assured by the evident commitment across South Yorkshire Modern Slavery partnership to tackle exploitation. The examples provided showed the complexity and sensitivity of this work along with the part each agency played. The Safer Rotherham Partnership 2022-25 sighted tackling modern slavery and human trafficking as one of its priorities. It was hoped that the observations and recommendations made a timely contribution to the agenda. The recommendations were submitted to Cabinet and the Safer Rotherham Partnership for response.

The Assistant Director, Community Safety & Street Scene echoed his thanks for everyone’s engagement with this review. The detailed work following the report would be carried out and brought back to Cabinet in due course.

The recommendations were then proposed.

Resolved:

1. That Cabinet received the report and considered the following recommendations:

                        i.         That the Safer Rotherham Partnership (SRP) gives consideration to rolling out a targeted learning and development offer/campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery, how to spot the signs, risks and how to raise concerns and make referrals:

a)    to front-line staff across key agencies;

b)    to elected members;

c)    to the general public and targeted business such as letting agencies (commercial and residential).

                       ii.         That the SRP gives consideration to mapping the local modern slavery landscape to identify high risk industries and hot spots (using the example of Bristol City Council).

                     iii.         That consideration is given to establishing an RMBC Modern Slavery Internal Governance Group including representation from services who may encounter modern slavery (for example, Procurement, Licensing, Environmental Health, Training Standards, Neighbourhood teams, Social Care and Housing).

                     iv.         That consideration is given to how young adults at risk or experiencing modern slavery are safeguarded during the transition from children to adult services and are age assessed appropriately.

                      v.         That consideration is given to developing referral pathways to ensure that modern slavery victims (both adult and child) have access to appropriate support (housing, advocacy, mental health support) on a timely basis.

                     vi.         That consideration is given to re-launching the Strategic Partnership information sharing group at the earliest opportunity to improve the way that agencies can share data and intelligence, including examining how IT systems can work better together.

                    vii.         That consideration is given to widening the levels of investigation and auditing of contracts procured by the Council to focus on the ‘layers’ of sub-contractors, including binding specifications to audit or ‘dip sample’ contracts along the supply chain.

                  viii.         That consideration is given to how the Procurement Team can engage with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) Supply Chain Advisor to improve processes, joint working and awareness.

                     ix.         That consideration be given to allowing victim advocates to make representations to Housing Assessment Panels on behalf of victims of modern slavery.

2. That Cabinet formally considered its response to the above recommendations within two months of its receipt, in accordance with the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

3. That the recommendations as approved, will be submitted to the Safer Rotherham Partnership for dissemination to the South Yorkshire Modern Slavery Partnership for consideration and response.