Update from Interim Chief Executive Mark Wynn, 22 January 2025

First off, a huge thank you to everyone who’s played a part in our response to the recent severe weather or had to travel to support our residents. The snow, flooding, and icy conditions have been quite a challenge, but our fantastic Highways Service has been out gritting night and day to keep our roads moving and deal with flooding problems.

Also, let's not forget to check in on our elderly neighbours and family members during this chilly winter weather. A simple check-in can make a big difference. Whether it’s a quick phone call, a text, or popping by to see if they need anything, let’s make sure they’re staying warm and have everything they need.

Live question and answer session

It was great that many of you were able to join my first live question and answer session last week. These events play a key part in helping us listen to staff from across the organisation to better understand and discuss the things that matter most to them. We had a variety of questions about devolution, leadership visibility, recruitment, and car parking. We also received some questions about changes to specific roles, and we have sent responses to the relevant areas. It was really encouraging to hear from everyone, and it gave us, as a leadership team, a chance to reflect on our communications regarding these issues.

If you weren’t able to attend, I would encourage you to watch the recording. We have also created a document that summarises the questions and answers, which can be printed and shared with staff who may not be able to watch the recording. This is available on the staff area of our website.

For those who attended the session or have watched the recording, it would be great if you could complete this evaluation form to see how you thought the session went and how it could be improved.

New Domestic Abuse Support Service

We recently commissioned a new Domestic Abuse Support Service in Lancashire for victims of domestic abuse. The Domestic Abuse Support Service Lancashire (DASSL) provides trauma-informed support for victim-survivors, including those from diverse backgrounds, women, LGBTQ+ communities, male victim-survivors, and children and young people.

This service offers support in safe accommodation and community outreach support for adults and children, catering to those with additional physical, sensory, and complex needs. DASSL is a partnership of specialist domestic abuse services in Lancashire. For more information about this new service, visit www.dassl.org.uk.

Our domestic abuse webpage has been updated with these details, and we have also added a "Quick Exit" button to the page. When clicked, this will take you to Google. This feature helps users leave the site quickly and discreetly if they feel they are being watched or monitored.

There is also a new link to the domestic abuse support webpage under the A-Z of the intranet.

I encourage everyone to complete the Level 1 Domestic Abuse e-learning course available via Astute our e-learning platform.

SEND Inspection

As you may know, in December, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted an inspection of the partnership support in Lancashire for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The inspection team engaged with a range of children, parents, and representative groups, as well as practitioners and leaders in Social Care, Education, and the NHS, to understand how we deliver support across the partnership.

We will receive a published final report later this month. The Local Area Partnership will then refresh and publish its strategic plan for the delivery and development of SEND services, taking into account the feedback we have received from inspectors.

I'd like to thank everyone who was involved during the inspection, and I was happy to hear that the inspectors appreciated the warmth, passion, and commitment they experienced as they met people from across the partnership.

Take care,

Mark