REVEALED: Adult Safeguarding Board Meeting Minutes from 10th April Meeting in Worcester

On the 10th April 2019, ‘Justice For Cardon’ campaigner Hugo Sugg and Director of Policy and External Affairs for Crisis Matt Downie attended a meeting with the Chair of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Adult Board (WSAB) Derek Benson and Board Manager Bridget Brickley to discuss the deaths of rough sleepers Remi Boczarski, Joby Sparrey, another death in Worcester (details on who this is are still unknown) and Cardon Banfield.

It was announced that a Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) would be commissioned into the deaths of Remi, Joby and the Worcester death – and would “consider” the Worcester City Council Review into Cardon Banfield’s death. Below are the full minutes of this meeting:

WSAB and Rough Sleeper Deaths Meeting

10^th April 2019

County Hall

Notes and actions

 

Attendees:

Hugo Sugg (Activist/campaigner) – HS

Matthew Downie (Crisis) –MD

Derek Benson (WSAB Chair) -DB

Bridget Brickley (WSAB Manager) -BB

Notes

Each outlined interest in this issue:

MD – Crisis interested in what leads to or inhibits LA undertaking SARs, or not.

HS – shares an interest in this, but particularly into CB’s (Cardon Banfield) death.

DB – Stated that share the objective to gain the same outcome; to reduce/ eliminate rough- sleeping.  However have different approaches.

Explained how a comment published in Worcester News about his belief that Rough Sleeping was a “lifestyle choice” was a misrepresentation around what he said in a meeting, which didn’t reflect the full context of the discussion.

MD – Local government knows the drivers of rough sleepers, as they have the data.  So interested in understanding how we can extrapolate this to better understand the issue.

Discussion took place into the death of CB and the review subsequently undertaken.

HS stated that he believed there had been some discrepancies in the evidence which was presented to both the WSAB Case Review group and the Worcester City Council Independent review into CB’s death.  This included:

• In 2014 CB was housed in the YMCA in Worcester and HS asserts that they also moved him to Birmingham.

HS – Asserted that CCP didn’t know CB.  Would also question why MAGGs or CCP didn’t find CB but was found by a member of the Public.

DB informed the meeting that a decision has been made to undertake a thematic review into recent cases of deaths of rough sleepers.

MD questioned the status of CB in this review.

DB explained that the thematic SAR had been commissioned in relation to the two referrals from Malvern. However the findings of the Worcester City review into CB’s death would also be considered/read in as part of the thematic review.

MD concerned that   particular lessons could be missed if we just look at the themes as this would mean that decisions around the individuals who had died could be missed.

MD –Would be interested to understand how the criteria for a SAR is interpreted in relation to the death of a rough sleeper.  i.e. how do some meet the criteria whilst others don’t.

DB and BB explained how this had been discussed at a national level by Safeguarding Adult Board Chairs. As with all SARs which are commissioned, not just those for Rough Sleepers, each area interprets the Care Act criteria.  In part this is due to the ‘proportionality’ which is referred to in the Act alongside how areas define adults with ‘care and support needs’.

CB Request that as independent chair of WSAB – ask to see mobilisation plan as part of review (i.e. what had been put in place whilst a contract had changed to a new provider.)

BB/DB explained that this had been raised with commissioning following the scoping for the initial SAR.

Questions to be considered  when determining the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the Thematic review:

• Where information is held from 2014 – believes that data has gone missing; what happened to that information;

• Forensic investigation into being found by member of public rather than services in place; For all three cases;

• Decommissioning of homelessness service, tendering of contract. g. CPP  contract was changing at the time;

• Efficacy of service;

• Could CB and the other deaths have been prevented?

• MD does the LA have the tools to prevent the deaths of other people in similar circumstances?

These will be shared with the Chair of the Case Review sub-group and the panel setting up the ToRs for their consideration.

Once the ToRs are drafted they will be shared with HS and MD for comment and feedback.

Justice For Cardon Meeting conclusion: “We have jumped over the hurdle but need to win the race”

“I am honoured to tell you that an official Safeguarding Review is going to happen for the deaths of Remi Boczarski and Joby Sparrey and THIS WILL CONSIDER THE CITY COUNCIL REPORT INTO CARDON’S DEATH.

In an hour-long meeting with the Chair of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board Derek Benson and the Board Manager Bridget Brickley, it was confirmed that whilst Derek maintains the criteria for a SAR into Cardon’s death on its own have not been met – Remi and Joby’s have and that lessons can be learned.

For two and a half years, I have been pushing for a review into Cardon’s death – and finally it looks like this may be starting to happen, even if it’s a consideration of the facts. It is an amazing result and I am over the moon.

The race is not won yet however and work needs to be done – but this is a step in the right direction.

FINALLY – we are getting closer to #JusticeForCardon.”

– Hugo Sugg, Justice For Cardon Campaigner

Press Statement by @HugosEarthquake Campaign in response to not hold a SAR into Cardon Banfield’s death for 2nd time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A second application for an Safeguarding Adults Review into Cardon Banfields death made on behalf of the Campaign has been rejected.

This was the unanimous decision of the members present at the meeting which include the organisations of Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Maggs Day Centre, Rooftop Housing Group and other independent providers.

This decision was reached as it was felt that the criteria for an SAR was not met, a decision supported by the Independent Chair, Derek Benson.

It was reached on Thursday 23rd August to review evidence that had been submitted to them though they also considered the recent Worcester City Council Review.

Hugo’s Earthquake Campaign supports the current Government Policy (September 2018) of holding a Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) for every homeless death and encourage Mr Benson and the organisations which sit on the Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board to reconsider and initiate a SAR into 74 year-old Mr Banfield’s death.

Hugo’s Earthquake Press Office | Statement released 20.09.18 13.45 BST

Written by Duncan Cushenan, Head of Press Office, PR and Communications

Response by #JusticeForCardon Campaigner @HugoSugg to not hold a SAR into Cardon Banfield’s death:

“I am appalled by the decision again not to hold a Safeguarding Adults Review into Cardon’s death. The Safeguarding Board are showing complete contempt for a 74 year old’s life and the memory of him. His family deserve to have the answers as to why he was left to die 3 months after being supported by a perfectly capable, working service. Derek Benson, the Board Chair, is siding with organisations that have a stake in not wanting to do a review. They have a reputation to uphold but the longer they don’t investigate Cardon’s death, the longer I will ensure that they cannot get away with letting down a Windrush citizen who contributed, worked and lived in our society.

I encourage Derek Benson to override the decision not to hold a SAR and initiate one immediately, in line with Government Policy to hold a SAR for every homeless death.”

Hugo Sugg,

#JusticeForCardon Campaigner

STATEMENT MADE ON @BBCHW BY @HUGOSUGG ABOUT “LIFESTYLE CHOICE” COMMENTS

The following statement was made by #HugosEarthquake Founder and #JusticeForCardon Campaigner, Hugo Sugg, on BBC Hereford and Worcester at 17:20, 13/03/2018:

I think Mr Benson made his point clear in a private meeting. As the chair of two Safeguarding boards which protect vulnerable people – I don’t agree with the comments but we need to move away from them and ask is it this mindset that prevented the Safeguarding Board doing a SAR into the death of a 74 year old man who partially mummified by a tent 200m from the city Centre.

We know that Cardon WAS in touch with Services – both voluntary and statutory, and the Board even acknowledged he was self-neglecting. Under the Care Act 2014, was Cardon offered a care assessment? If yes, why has this not been gathered in evidence – if no, why was it not undertaken?

We need answers to these and other unanswered questions, and we need lessons to be learnt. My position is a Safeguarding Adults Review NEEDS to be undertaken into the death of Cardon and so we can stop this happening again as this should be based on fact rather than personal opinion.

#JusticeForCardon: The full guide to who’s who and what’s what?

In this index we will clear up who is who and what is what in terms of the complex Cardon Banfield case, with the aim to help people understand the case better.

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Cardon Banfield – Cardon was a 74 year old homeless man who was living in Worcestershire on and off for a number of years prior to his death. Cardon had previously been supported by the Worcestershire Homelessness Intervention Team (WHIT) run by St Paul’s Hostel, Worcester (funded by the taxpayer) and other agencies prior to April 2016. He was found in a tent on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester by a warden of the cricket club on July 5th 2016, partially mummified and smelling.

Worcester City Council – the Local Authority that oversees the geographical area that Cardon was found in. Worcester City Council also manage the taxpayer-funded homeless services in the City/County in a process called commissioning.

• David Blake – The now-Managing Director of Worcester City Council and previous “Head of Place”. David was directly responsible for the homelessness department of the City Council at the time of Cardon’s discovery and his staff created the environment which is crucial to the Cardon Banfield case.
• Nina Warrington – As Strategic Housing Manager of the City Council, Nina has been the person who has overseen homelessness and housing policy for a decade. Nina has been leading and directing the policies and contracts of the City in terms of homelessness.
• Ben Bradley – Ben is a homeless worker for the City Council responsible for commissioning, de-commissioning and managing taxpayer-funded homelessness services in Worcestershire. Ben was the person who wrote the badly-worded contract for the CCP contract which was enforced from April 2016.
• Worcester Conservative Party – Worcester Tories were in political control of the City Council before and immediately after Cardon was found and was responsible for the de-commissioning of WHIT and commissioning of CCP. The Worcester Conservatives have never spoken out in relation to Cardon’s death.
  • Cllr Lucy Hodgson – Lucy was in the Cabinet of both Worcestershire County Council and Worcester City Council and was the person to instigate the cuts to funding for the WHIT and authorise the creation of CCP. Lucy single-handedly authorised the CCP service that would cut Cardon’s support for getting housing, off.
  • Robin Walker MP – Robin is the elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Worcester (City) and was publicly vocal about the need to learn lessons from Cardon’s death with a full investigation.
• Worcester Labour Party – The Worcester Labour Party took political control of Worcester City Council shortly after Cardon’s death and have held it ever since. They have overseen the majority of the scandalous response and denial by the City Council in response to his death. The Party did however break silence 3 days after Cardon’s identity was discovered and spoke out about the tragedy.
  • Cllr Joy Squires – Joy Squires, Deputy Leader of the Worcester Labour Party, came to the Cardon Flower Vigil on the 5th July 2017 to pay respects a year on from Cardon’s discovery.

St Paul’s Hostel/WHIT – St Paul’s Hostel based in the City Centre is the organisation that ran the previous support contract from the City Council called the WHIT. Cardon was supported by the WHIT for a small number of years and they helped him get accommodation, especially in the YMCA Worcester hostel in 2014. WHIT were contracted to walk around the streets of Worcester once a day, sometimes more, and support rough sleepers in the place they were residing. Through this service was Cardon picked up and supported.
When the contract with the City Council was ended, and the new service started with CCP in April 2016, St Paul’s no longer had any responsibility to support Cardon and WHIT had vanished. There was no structured transfer of information or clients over to CCP from St Paul’s, and this has been central to the controversy about how and why Cardon was allowed to fall through the cracks and not be supported.

CCP – Caring for Communities and People (CCP) is the organisation that holds the current taxpayer-funded homelessness service in Worcestershire, starting in April 2016. CCP were the agency responsible for supporting rough sleepers like Cardon in the 3 months before Cardon’s discovery. CCP’s contract for the service stated that they were to run a “Light Touch” outreach service from the start of their contract, but what this meant was not defined in the official Contract from the City Council, written by Ben Bradley.
CCP and the City Council have since agreed that this “Light Touch” service would be once every 4 weeks minimum and this is contractually still the case. There has still been no release of the transition plan between the City Council and CCP in regards to clients being bought across from WHIT.

Maggs Day Centre – Maggs Day Centre is an organisation which does not receive substantial or core money from the City Council to run. They have no current contract with the City Council to provide a service on behalf of taxpayers.
However, Maggs Day Centre are crucial in the story around why Cardon wasn’t supported from when WHIT was wound up to CCP. It was widely reported and confirmed that Cardon visited Maggs at least once in the time of having his support stopped by the winding up of WHIT and his death in at least mid-June 2016 – however Maggs did not pass on any information to CCP about him.
With safeguarding a key responsibility of any organisation working with the homeless, it is therefore reasonable to suggest that Maggs’ should have passed on any concern they had about Cardon to CCP, who held the contract: By the point in time that Cardon had visited Maggs, he was living in a tent and not in any housing or lodgings.

• Mel Kirk – Mel Kirk is the Chief Executive of Maggs Day Centre and the person responsible for the service being delivered by Maggs. Mel’s running of the organisation means that no rough sleeper was, and still is not, automatically referred onto CCP or an agency because they have had contact with Maggs.

Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board/Safeguarding Adults Review – The Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board (WSAB) is the statutory body which safeguards adults in Worcestershire, including Worcester City. A member of the public can report any safeguarding concerns they have about an adult in the County to this Board and they must make further inquiries.
If there has been a suspicious death or serious consequences around a death of an adult in Worcestershire, a member of the public or Members of the Board itself may request a Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR). This is a new name for what was called a Serious Case Review. A purpose of a SAR is to establish facts around the individual, the lead up to the death and the lessons that can be learnt to stop something similar happening again.
In November 2016, the case of Cardon Banfield was referred to the WSAB however it was concluded in December 2016 that a SAR was not going to happen, due to the fact that Cardon was not known to statutory services. We have challenged this and have since gained evidence to submit another request for a SAR in 2017/2018.

Healthwatch Worcestershire – Healthwatch Worcestershire are the legal body that represents the voice of clients in services, like homeless services and the NHS. They have been involved since mid-2017 in helping to get a SAR into Cardon’s death. Healthwatch believe that lessons can be learnt around safeguarding homeless adults in Worcestershire in response to the failings of organisations to support Cardon.
Healthwatch have publicly stated that they have no confidence in safeguarding practices in Worcestershire and said there were serious failings in the de-commissioning and re-commissioning of homeless services in Worcestershire and Worcester. Healthwatch are helping to push for another SAR after the first one was rejected by the Adult Safeguarding Board.