5.2 Roles and Responsibilities

1. Introduction

The Safeguarding Adults Board is a multi-agency forum which provides strategic oversight and leadership of safeguarding adults practice.

Under the Care Act 2014, the local authority must establish a Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB). The main objective of a SAB is to assure itself that local safeguarding arrangements and partners are working well together to help and protect adults who:

• have needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs);
• are experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect;
• as a result of those care and support needs are unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect.

1.1 Working together

It is the responsibility of all of us whether we are a statutory body, an organisation, Elected Members, local communities or individuals to share a common aim to promote safety and protect adults at risk of abuse and neglect. Through a strong focus on prevention our aim should be to enable adults to live an independent life free from harm, whilst making their own choices and decisions.

Prevention can cover many different types of support, services and facilities. There is no single definition for what constitutes prevention activity as this can range from neighbours looking out for each other to targeted social care interventions aimed at addressing vulnerability factors that may increase a vulnerable person’s risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation.

2. Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Adults Board

Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) has three statutory members: the local authority, the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, and Thames Valley Police. The SAB has a strategic role that is greater than the sum of the operational duties
of the core partners. It oversees and leads adult safeguarding across the locality and is interested in a range of matters that contribute to the prevention of abuse and neglect. These include the safety of patients in local health services, and the quality of local care and support services.

Buckinghamshire SAB has three core duties:

• It must publish a strategic plan for each financial year, setting out how it will meet its main objective and what the members will do to achieve this. The plan must be developed with local community involvement, and in consultation with the local Health watch organisation.
• It must publish an annual report detailing what the Safeguarding Adults Board has done during the year to achieve its main objectives and implement its strategic plan, and what each member has done to implement the strategy. It should also detail the findings of any Safeguarding Adults Reviews and subsequent action.
• It must conduct any Safeguarding Adults Review in accordance with Section 44 of the Care Act. Safeguarding requires collaboration between partners in order to create a framework of inter-agency arrangements. Local authorities and their relevant partners must collaborate and work together as set out in the cooperation duties in the Care Act and, in doing so, must, where appropriate, also consider the wishes and feelings of the adult on whose behalf they are working those adults who have been involved in a safeguarding enquiry.

The SAB has the statutory responsibility to ensure a robust, proportionate, timely and professional approach is taken when adults with care or support needs are at risk of, or experiencing abuse or neglect.

Developing multi-agency policies and procedures to safeguard adults with care and support needs is a requirement of all SABs. Increased awareness and improved collaboration between agencies are essential to improving both prevention and responsiveness to abuse and neglect. All organisations working with adults in Buckinghamshire must ensure they are:

• aware of safeguarding issues;
• familiar with these policies and procedures;
• equipped to act in accordance with their responsibilities under this framework.

3. Buckinghamshire Council

The Care Act 2014 requires that local authorities and their relevant partners must collaborate and work together as set out in the cooperation duties in the Care Act and, in doing so, must, where appropriate, also consider the wishes and feelings of the adult on whose behalf they are working.

Local authorities may cooperate with any other body they consider appropriate where it is relevant to their care and support functions. The lead agency with responsibility for coordinating adult safeguarding arrangements is the local authority, but all the members of the SAB should designate a lead officer.

Section 42 of the Care Act 2014 requires that each local authority must:

• Make enquiries, or cause others to do so, if it believes an adult is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect. An enquiry should establish whether any action needs to be taken to prevent or stop abuse or neglect, and if so, by whom.
• Where Mental Capacity is an issue or the adult concerned has ‘substantial difficulty’ in being involved in the process of a safeguarding enquiry, the local authority must arrange for them to be supported by an advocate.
• Where there is no other suitable person to represent them, an independent advocate must be provided.
• Co-operate with each of its relevant partners in order to appropriately protect the adult. In turn, partners must cooperate with the local authority.

The combined effect of section 42 and 79 of the Care Act is that the local authorities safeguarding responsibility cannot be delegated. The duty on the local authority under s.42 is to “make (or cause to be made) whatever enquiries it thinks necessary to enable it to decide whether any action should be taken…” The statutory service does not have to undertake the actual enquiry itself, it has to coordinate and quality assure the response, including the quality and outcomes of any delegated enquiry.

3.1 The Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub

Buckinghamshire Council co-ordinates the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), which co-locates key partners in order to improve the initial response to safety concerns. The MASH is staffed by Adult Social Care Safeguarding professionals from Buckinghamshire Council, Thames Valley Police and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT), and based within Aylesbury Police Station.

The adult MASH team’s responsibilities for Safeguarding Include:

• Triaging referrals
• Screening out inappropriate referrals
• Ensuring immediate action is taken to prevent/reduce/remove risk
• Identifying the relevant organisation or team that will carry out a Sec.42 Enquiry
• Sharing relevant information with the key team or organisation(s) involved with the person’s welfare and/or care and support
• Advising and supporting other professionals/teams on Safeguarding issues, and:
• Overseeing the collection of management information

Upon receipt of a concern into the MASH, information will be collated to build up a picture of the circumstances of the person(s) subject to the concerns and to assess whether intervention is required under the Safeguarding criteria.

Concerns about an adult at risk should be referred to the Early Resolution and Safeguarding Team, which is co-located within the MASH, using the online referral, portal access form or by making contact via the Adult Social Care Safeguarding telephone number (0800 137 915) during normal working hours, or the Emergency Duty Social Work Team (0800 999 7677) outside of this.

A Qualified Social Work Practitioner will then review the information provided and determine the appropriate level of response required. This could entail transferring the referral from the Early Resolution and Safeguarding Team to the appropriate Adult Social Care Team, within either the Local Authority or OHFT, that is identified to be involved with and responsible for supporting the adult concerned.

If a member of the Public or a Professional has immediate concerns about abuse or neglect and that someone might be in danger, they should call 999 or 101 to report a crime (or potential crime) to the Police.

The MASH promotes collaborative multi-agency practice and aims to ensure a timely and consistent response is achieved for Safeguarding concerns. Staff within the MASH also provide information, advice and guidance for professionals and the general public, which aims to help improve the quality of information provided and reduce the number of inappropriate referrals received.

4. Thames Valley Police

The Thames Valley Police (TVP) are statutory members of the Safeguarding Adults Board. Many forms of abuse or neglect may amount to criminal offences. Whilst safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility; prevention, identification, investigation, risk management and detection of criminal offences is a fundamental role of the Police.

Criminal Investigations will take precedence over other forms of enquiry, but safeguarding planning will need to be undertaken in parallel. The Police coordinate criminal investigations with wider safeguarding responses – this requires partnership, effective communication and co-operation, making best use of each organisations skills and expertise in order to achieve safe, affective and timely outcomes for those at risk.

5. Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board

The Safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk in the NHS: Safeguarding accountability and assurance framework  sets out the framework for Adult Safeguarding within the NHS. It clearly sets out roles, duties and responsibilities of agencies commissioning NHS health care.

The Integrated Care Board (ICB) is the statutory partner of the Safeguarding Adults Board. The ICB is the commissioner of local health services and needs to assure itself that the organisation’s, from which they commission, have effective safeguarding arrangements in place. ICBs are responsible for securing the expertise of Designated Professionals, on behalf of the local health system. Designated Professionals and Adult Safeguarding Leads undertake a whole health economy role – it is crucial they play an integral role in all parts of the commissioning cycle, from procurement to quality assurance if appropriate services are to be commissioned that support those at risk of abuse and neglect, as well as effectively safeguarding their well-being. Safeguarding forms part of the NHS standard contract and commissioners will need to agree with providers what contract monitoring processes are used to demonstrate compliance with safeguarding duties.

ICBs must gain assurance from all commissioned services, throughout the year to ensure continuous improvement. Assessment may consist of assurance visits, section 11 audits and attendance at provider safeguarding committees. ICBs are also required to demonstrate they have appropriate systems in place for discharging their statutory duties in terms of safeguarding.

6. The Channel Panel

Channel is a confidential, voluntary, multi-agency safeguarding process designed to support vulnerable children and adults who may be at risk of being radicalised and drawn into terrorist activity. It is an early intervention service which has been mandated in every local authority in England and Wales.

The Preventing Terrorism Channel Panel is co-chaired by Buckinghamshire Council and Thames Valley Police and has multi agency involvement including from social services and health. The panel works collaboratively to assess the nature and extent of the risk and, if necessary, provide an appropriate support package tailored to the vulnerable individual’s needs. This is monitored closely and regularly reviewed. The care plan will vary according to the risk that has been identified, and may include targeted interventions (including faith guidance, counselling or diversionary activities) or access to specific services, such as health or education.

Local safeguarding structures have a role to play for those eligible for adult safeguarding. Referrals to Channel can be made through the local authority Prevent lead or the local police Prevent engagement officer.

The Channel Vulnerability Assessment is used by safeguarding professionals in the Channel Panel to identify specific factors which make some vulnerable to extremist messages and provide appropriate support as required. It should be read alongside the Channel Duty Guidance.

7. All partner agencies

Each partner agency will have its own internal safeguarding procedures, which should comply with the multiagency framework, and should clearly set out the responsibilities of all persons who operate within them. These internal procedures must include:

• Statement of purpose relating to promoting wellbeing, preventing harm and responding effectively if concerns are raised
• Statement of roles and responsibilities, authority and accountability, specific enough to ensure all personnel understand their role and limitations
• Statement of process for dealing with safeguarding concerns, including for emergency situations and reporting to Police when appropriate
• Full information on how to make a referral, whether inside normal working hours or not, including comprehensive list of contact details both locally and nationally
• Information on how to record allegations, enquiries and all associated work.
• Full description of channels for multiagency communication and procedures for information sharing and decision making
• Details of how Professional disagreements are to be resolved, especially with regard to disagreements about whether a referral should be made or not.

8. Related Partnerships / Boards

There are strong synergies between the work of local partnerships, particularly when looking at the broader family agenda as well as opportunities for efficiencies in taking forward work to maximise impact and minimise duplication.

Partnerships may include the:

• Community Safety Partnership;
• Safeguarding Children Partnership;
• Domestic Abuse Board;
• Health and Wellbeing Board;
• quality surveillance group;
• Integrated Care Board; and
• health overview and scrutiny committee.

9. Skills and Experience

The local authority must ensure that between them, all members of the SAB have the requisite skills and experience necessary for the SAB to act effectively and efficiently to safeguard adults in its area.

Members who attend in a professional and managerial capacity should be:

• able to demonstrate a personal commitment to the 6 safeguarding principles (see Principles of Adult Safeguarding, in the Safeguarding: What is it and why does it Matter? chapter)
• able to present issues clearly;
• experienced in the work of their organisation;
• knowledgeable about the local area and population;
• able to explain their organisation’s priorities;
• able to demonstrate a clear understanding of their role and that of their agency within the SAB;
• able to promote the aims of the SAB;
• able to commit their organisation to agreed actions;
• have a thorough understanding of abuse and neglect and its impact;
• have knowledge of local safeguarding services; and
• able to understand the pressures facing front line practitioners.

Members of the SAB are expected to consider what assistance they can provide in supporting the Board in its work. This might be through payment to the local authority or to a joint fund established by the local authority.

Members might also support the work of the SAB by providing premises for meetings or holding training sessions. It is in all core partners’ interests to have an effective SAB that is resourced adequately to carry out its functions.