A new independent chair of the Peterborough Safeguarding Adults Board has been appointed.
Natalie Cowland joins both the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Safeguarding Adults Boards from the Nursing and Midwifery Council where she was Head of Organisational Learning, Quality and Improvement. Before this she had a varied 30-year career with the Metropolitan Police Service which includes a significant background in multi-agency collaboration and safeguarding at a strategic level.
Natalie said: “I am absolutely delighted to be appointed to the position of Independent Chair and am looking forward to working with partners to continue the Boards work, so that adults across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough receive necessary support and protection, and that it is a safe place to live”.
Councillor Neil Boyce, Peterborough City Council's Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: "I would like to welcome Natalie to the Peterborough Safeguarding Adults Board and I look forward to working with her, building on the strong foundations already in place to ensure that the good work of safeguarding in our city continues.
"We are fully committed to improving outcomes for vulnerable adults in Peterborough and by working closely with partners we can help achieve this."
As part of her role, Natalie will provide independent scrutiny, leadership, and strategic vision to the Safeguarding Adults agenda for both Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.
She will lead the work with partners in preparing a Safeguarding Adult’s Strategy with annual delivery plans, setting out the short and longer-term actions of both Boards as a whole. She will also deliver an annual report on each Boards activities, including an assessment of the effectiveness of local safeguarding arrangements and the challenges for the next year.
The Cambridgeshire Safeguarding Adults Board is made up of statutory partners: Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board, alongside other partners including Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, District and City Councils and other NHS providers. It is responsible for ensuring that vulnerable adults at risk of harm, neglect and exploitation across Cambridgeshire receive the help and protection that they need.
As a partnership both Boards work to:
- Prevent abuse and neglect
- Promote wellbeing and safety
- Respond quickly and effectively to reports of abuse and neglect
- Hold our partners and other agencies to account for undertaking this duty and scrutinise safeguarding actions and outcomes.