Dumfries and Galloway Public Protection Partnership strategic plan 2024 to 2027 Priority areas of focus

The strategic plan has four priority areas of focus that sit across the key pillars of public protection activity; these are critical aspects of public protection activity for high-risk groups, that will be addressed through multi agency activity. These priorities set out what the Public Protection Partnership want to achieve in partnership with all agencies over the next three years.

In delivering the strategic plan, associated SMART annual workplans will be developed. The process will be dynamic in nature to ensure capture of emerging challenges and will be updated through the lifespan of the plan.

The four priority areas are:

  1. Lived and living experience.
  2. Self neglect.
  3. Sexual harm.
  4. Multi-agency chronologies and information sharing.

The responsibility for implementing this plan sits across the partnership and is also passed to partners in the sub-committees and standing committees who will report progress back to the PPC, according to their terms of reference.

Priority 1: Lived and living experience

We will respect and value people’s lived experience. We will create, develop, change and evaluate services to ensure they are provided based on appreciation and understanding of the views and requirements of those who use our services.

What we will do

We will work together with those with lived and living experience to coproduce and improve services.

What good looks like

Services, policies and procedures are improved by listening, learning and collaborating with the people who use them and the people that deliver them.

Involving individuals with lived experiences to codesign policies, procedures and services.

Recognise engagement skills across the partnership and ensure a coordinated approach.

As a partnership we are open to making changes to how we work based on feedback from those with lived and living experiences (you said, we did).

Future communication will be informed by our understanding of those with lived and living experience.

How this priority aligns to the partnership’s strategic aims

This priority supports the involvement of those with lived and living experience of support and protection processes. This will enable partners, including frontline staff, to improve both services and outcomes for people who may be at risk.

Links to strategic aim 3 and 4. 

The high-level activity within this priority area is based on a partnership approach and will include:

  • ensure all people have an opportunity to share their voices and experiences
  • evidence we are involving those with lived and living experience of protection to codesign and improve how we work together to keep those most at risk in our communities safe
  • evidence of continued improvement on keeping people safe
  • evidence we are keeping people informed on changes through a range of communications relevant to the audience

Existing strategic documents which relate include:

Priority 2: Self-neglect

We will reduce the impact of self-neglect for the person and the wider community and work with partnerships and partners to address the causes and facilitate positive outcomes. People who have or are at risk of selfneglect will have improved health and well-being and access to support.

What we will do

We will address and reduce the impact of self-neglect.

What good looks like

Staff will recognise strands of self-neglect including hoarding, stigma, mental health and capacity. 

Staff will recognise self-neglect at an earlier stage and be confident to address this. 

We will have a reviewed approach in Dumfries and Galloway including how we review and restructure services to support people.

We will provide successful interventions to help people who self-neglect and reduce risks.

Process map for self-neglect is consistently applied.

How this priority aligns to the partnership’s strategic aims

This priority supports staff across the partnership to identify and support people affected by self-neglect and address the impact this has on adults, their families and the wider communities. Links to strategic aim 1, 2, 5.

The high-level activity within this priority area is based on a partnership approach and will include:

  • staff are able to identify self-neglect at an earlier stage and use referral pathways consistently
  • improve community and individual awareness of self-neglect, the signs to look out for and what to do if identified
  • we will work with wider partnerships and partners to address the causes of self-neglect
  • deliver multi-agency training to ensure staff know and understand all the strands of self-neglect and support people to address it

Existing strategic documents which relate include:

Priority 3. Sexual harm

We will reduce and prevent sexual harm and provide an early response to support victims and survivors and protect them from further violence, harm and related trauma. We will work with partners to address and challenge societal attitudes, values and structures that underpin sexual harm.

What we will do

We will maximise efforts to effectively prevent, identify and support adults and children experiencing sexual harm.

What good looks like

Dumfries and Galloway will have an overarching strategy to bring together different strands of sexual harm including sexual abuse and exploitation (including commercial), online safety/harm, sexting, underage sex and peer harm.

Prevention through recognition and challenge of attitudes that underpin sexual harm.

There will be a consistent approach to recognition and assessment of sexual harm including trauma.

We will adopt a wider contextual safeguarding approach through working closely with other partners to identify harm and reduce risk.

Our sexual harm strategy will include how we address perpetrator behaviour.

How this priority aligns to the partnership’s strategic aims

This priority supports staff across the partnership to identify and support people and their families who have experienced sexual harm. Links to strategic aim 1, 2, 5.

The high-level activity within this priority area is based on a partnership approach and will include:

  • supporting local partners to raise awareness and identify sexual harm
  • to develop a framework to ensure that all agencies work collaboratively to reduce the risk of harm
  • work with partners to ensure strategic approaches to support perpetrators to change their behaviour
  • agree a joint strategic approach to the way partners work together to identify, investigate, and support individuals and their families
  • improve community awareness to support reporting of sexual harm and access to services
  • staff are able to identify sexual harm at an earlier stage and provide support to prevent escalation or repeated abuse

Existing strategic documents which relate include:

Priority 4: Multi-agency chronologies and information sharing

We will work together to ensure we have the appropriate information available, at the right times, to understand and continuously support and protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

What we will do

We will focus on our approach to implementing and effectively using joint chronologies for protection cases and information sharing.

What good looks like

People work together by successfully sharing information, working with people who use services to celebrate successes and minimise risk.

Clear leadership across the partnership to promote consistent use of multi-agency and operational guidance. 

The partnership invests time and resources into the delivery of training and staff development.

There is an Integrated multi-agency chronology in one place (shared).

People work together to develop successful information sharing through a Multi-Agency Implementation Plan.

The workforce feels confident and understand the importance of this approach. 

Staff access and maximise the use multi-agency chronologies to support improvements in practice that protects and enhances the lives of vulnerable people.

How this priority aligns to the partnership’s strategic aims

This priority supports staff across the partnership to share relevant information to identify significant events in an individual’s life. This will enable joint assessments of risk and supporting of people to feel safe from harm. Links to strategic aim 1 and 3.

The high-level activity within this priority area is based on a partnership approach and will include:

  • implement joint chronologies for protection cases by bringing together relevant information to support people to be safe
  • develop clear multi-agency chronology guidance to inform risk assessment and planning
  • improve use of multi-agency chronologies through effective processes, systems and delivery of multi-agency training

Existing strategic documents which relate include: