Annual Reports

The Care Act 2014 requires each Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) to publish an annual report.

The Care Act (Schedule 2.4 (1) a–g) defines the minimum content of an annual report.

As soon as is feasible after the end of each financial year, a SAB must publish a report on:

• What it has done during that year to achieve its objective,
• What it has done during that year to implement its strategy,
• What each member has done during that year to implement the strategy,
• The findings of the reviews arranged by it under section 44 (safeguarding adults reviews) which have concluded in that year (whether or not they began in that year),
• The reviews arranged by it under that section which are ongoing at the end of that year (whether or not they began in that year),
• What it has done during that year to implement the findings of reviews arranged by it under that section, and
• Where it decides during that year not to implement a finding of a review arranged by it under that section, the reasons for its decision.
• The performance of member agencies and how effectively, or otherwise, they are working together should be included in the report.

The annual report must be sent to:

• The Chief Executive and leader of the local authority which established the SAB.
• Any local Policing body that is required to sit on the SAB.
• The local Health Watch organisation.
• The Chair of the local Health and Wellbeing Board.

Annual reports should form the basis for the consultation on the strategic plan for the coming year.

A SAB should seek assurance from its members that the annual report has been considered within their internal governance processes.

LSAB Annual Report 2025-26

Message from the Independent Chair

"We must be candid about the pressures that affect partner agencies ability to do more, and create barriers to professional curiosity. Public education and prevention remain areas where we need to reach further into our local communities".

I was delighted to join the Board in October 2025 and I thank partners and the Business Team for their warm welcome.

Adult safeguarding is about respecting our basic human right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. We must continue to work with local communities to deliver on this. The Board has remained very active in commissioning Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs), using the lessons learnt to improve practice and shape our local pathways. The relatively high number of SARs is testimony to our culture of transparency, rather than indicating a higher rate of serious failures.

Our learning and engagement work has continued to develop resulting in co-produced resources that workers can use to good effect. It is of note that we seek to hear directly from service users at every Board meeting so that we can bring their lived experiences to life. We must be candid about the pressures that affect partner agencies ability to do more, and create barriers to professional curiosity. Public education and prevention remain areas where we need to reach further into our local communities. We also need to do more to join up our approach so families receive consistent support across life stages, without falling between the gaps in services. Hidden, complex harms including modern slavery, race discrimination, missing episodes and adult exploitation continue to be under-reported, and require sustained specialist attention.

We will focus on responding to national reform, creating a strategic learning culture, improving prevention & public education, and be accountable for providing consistent leadership across the partnership and the borough. We will also continue to focus on our Think Family approach and develop new ways of working in relation to transitional safeguarding, so families experience joined up, cohesive support.

I am pleased that this year has been one of steady progress and honest reflection, and want to take the opportunity to thank every partner, practitioner and member of the public who has contributed to adult safeguarding. Your commitment has produced tangible outcomes that help protect people in Lewisham.

Ben Mant

Summary of Delivery in 2025-26

The Board continued to oversee the delivery of its strategic aims and objectives.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

Seeking the Views of Members of the Public: Ensuring the lived experience of local citizen’s informs the co-production of the Board’s and partners work. See page 5.

Communication and Engagement: It is also crucial that local workers play a central role in determining what the priorities should be and that we actively listen to them. See page 6.

Testing the Effectiveness of Our Arrangements: Partners must challenge each other to strive for continuous best practice. See pages 7 & 8.

Developing Policies, Strategies & Guidance: This is always based on the national, regional and local context, linked to relevant research, data and best practice. See page 10.

Building a Picture: Prevalence of Abuse Locally: We have an increasingly detailed and sophisticated understanding. See pages 11 to 13.

Measuring the Impact of Learning Activity: We must strive to establish a strategic learning culture across our systems designed to help prevent abuse and neglect. See page 14.

Partners Safeguarding Work in the Community

By encouraging proactive professional curiosity over the last year, our staff have increased the number of Safeguarding Concerns shared with the local authority. Age UK staff have felt more confident to report at an earlier stage. Community Connections is a fantastic service signposting people to early help. Staff from this service have been involved in supporting the Lewisham Self-Neglect High Risk Panel.

Lewisham Speaking Up is proud to a be a member of the Board. Our self-advocates enjoy making presentations to members and talking about the lives of people with learning disabilities, the inequalities they face, and the systemic changes they would like to see. Being part of the Board allows us to be close to, and up to date with best practice.

Safeguarding is a key part of our work when supporting sanctuary seekers who are often forced into destitution and face barriers to access services. We have recently completed an audit to help our organisation be trauma informed, including our approach to safeguarding. We were delighted to take part in the Board’s Citizens Assembly with our community members sharing their lived experience. 

South East London Mind continues to strengthen safeguarding practice through enhanced training requirements for staff at all levels. The Care Quality Commission rated our dementia services as Outstanding, and we also received a National Safeguarding Adults Board’s “We See You, We Hear You” Excellence Award for that work.

CGL has a robust safeguarding policy and procedure in place, including access to a national team that provides additional support to individual services. However, becoming a member of the Board has enabled us to further embed and strengthen our safeguarding approach. Positive relationships continue to develop and, by utilising our in-house social worker, we are able to ensure informed advocacy for service users who require social care support.

Work of the Sub-Groups 

Case Review Sub-Group

The Sub-Group oversees Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) processes and is led by Joan Hutton the Director of Operations for Adult Social Care.

The group met 7 times during 2025-26. 10 new cases were submitted for consideration, which is another new and positive record, as this indicates there is transparency, and a willingness by professionals to learn from perceived practice shortfalls.

A number of these cases were incorporated into a thematic review of acute hospital discharge, which was commissioned & ran throughout the year, but will be featured in the next Annual Report as publication was May 2026.

A SAR which involves Lewisham residents was commissioned in Greenwich, which is where an incident occurred in a supported living environment. The Board is supporting this review but not the lead on this case. This will be reported on in 2026-27.

There were also notifications which linked to the Lewisham Safeguarding Children Partnership, and one that did not progress to review, but was used as a detailed case study at the Think Family Workshop in February 2026.

A further thematic review into the deaths of homeless adults in Lewisham was also agreed in-year but will commence in the Autumn of 2026.

Other notifications did not progress to review as they did not meet the statutory criteria, but in most instances there are still actions taken to ensure the potential for learning is maximised. The details are presented at the Board’s Development Session every year in March.

Performance, Audit and Quality Sub-Group

Carle Fourie who is the Director of Social Care at SLaM Chaired the Sub-Group throughout the year.

The Sub-Group oversaw the development of all the policies, procedures and guidance produced throughout 2025-26 and referenced in this report (page 10), alongside the work on audits and performance monitoring.

A new Terms of Reference was created for the Sub-Group which includes an Assurance Framework.

This outlines which data will be collected and analysed throughout the year, which includes:

1. Types and location of abuse reported to the local authority, including those under reported, as well as the most prevalent.
2. Relevant crimes reported to police, including those covered under the Serious Violence Duty & with a specific focus on underdeveloped areas of adult policy.

3. Modern Slavery and Human
   Trafficking data.
4. Missing Adults.
5. Informal and unpaid carers.
6. Homelessness
7. Out of Borough Placements.
8. Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat
9. Advocacy
10. Analysis linked to local and national SAR trends and themes.

The new Provider and Organisation Quality Assurance Board (POQA) will also provide a report twice per year linked to ‘provider support’ intelligence.

LSAB Structure 2026-2027

Strategic Business Plan 2026-2027

In line with the five priority areas there are a total of 15 actions that are planned for the 2026-27 work programme of the Board.

This will include:

• Collaborating with the voluntary and community sector in hearing the adults voice, including the delivery of a workshop for faith leaders and communities.
• Think Family Workshops with the Lewisham Safeguarding Children’s Partnership.
• An ‘embedding learning from SARs’ event - 10 years of SARs in Lewisham.
• Launch of new training linked to preventing sexual abuse in institutional settings.
• Another detailed audit of safeguarding and mental capacity related practice.
• Creating a Community of Practice for Transitional Safeguarding

Full details can be read here:

Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board - Partnership Compact and Strategic Business Plan 2025-2026

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2025-2026

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2024-2025 

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2023-2024 

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2022-2023

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2021-2022

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2020-2021

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2019-2020

Download a copy of the LSAB Annual Report 2018-2019