Adult safeguarding boards play an important role in protecting people who may be at risk of abuse or neglect. These boards are known formally as Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs). Their work is centred around ensuring that local services work well together to protect vulnerable adults. Vulnerable adults, in this context, are usually people aged 18 or over who have care and support needs and who may be unable to protect themselves due to illness, disability, or other circumstances.
Safeguarding is about more than responding when harm occurs. It includes preventing harm from happening in the first place, promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults, and making sure that agencies know how to respond when something does go wrong.
Legal Foundation and Duties
Safeguarding Adults Boards were given a legal footing under the Care Act 2014. This law requires each local authority in England to set up a SAB to help coordinate safeguarding activity in their area. The Care Act outlines the duties of SABs and the types of organisations that must work together as part of them.
A SAB is not a single organisation. It is a partnership made up of different agencies, each with its own responsibilities. The three core members are:
- The local authority
- The police
- The NHS Integrated Care Board (previously known as Clinical Commissioning Groups)
Other agencies such as housing services, probation services, and voluntary organisations are often involved as well.
The Care Act 2014 sets clear expectations on what a SAB must do. Their legal duties include overseeing local safeguarding arrangements and making sure that they are effective.
Core Purpose of Adult Safeguarding Boards
The key role of an adult safeguarding board is to bring agencies together to develop and maintain a strong system for protecting adults at risk.
Their responsibilities include:
- Coordinating safeguarding work across different agencies
- Agreeing local policies and procedures for how safeguarding concerns will be handled
- Monitoring how well safeguarding is working in the area
- Identifying and addressing gaps in local safeguarding services
- Making sure that staff in agencies such as social care, health services, and the police are trained in safeguarding
- Looking into cases where an adult dies or suffers serious harm as a result of abuse or neglect, through something called a Safeguarding Adults Review
The focus is on partnership working. No single agency can deal with safeguarding issues alone. By working as a team, agencies can share information, pool resources, and respond more effectively.
Developing Policies and Procedures
Safeguarding Adults Boards lead the development of local safeguarding policies and procedures. This means deciding together how alerts about possible harm will be handled, who will take the lead in different situations, and how information will be shared between agencies.
Policies cover topics such as:
- How to recognise signs of abuse and neglect
- How to raise a safeguarding concern
- How to respond to urgent situations
- How agencies will share information safely and lawfully
- How to make sure the person at risk is involved in decisions
Clear policies help local workers know what to do, which reduces delays and confusion. They also mean that the response is consistent no matter which agency first spots a problem.
Monitoring Safeguarding Performance
Another important role for an adult safeguarding board is to look at how well safeguarding procedures are working locally. SABs collect statistics about how many safeguarding concerns are raised, what types of abuse are most common, and what outcomes are achieved.
This monitoring can show whether safeguarding activity is improving safety for adults at risk. It can highlight trends, such as an increase in financial abuse cases, which could then lead to targeted prevention work.
SABs usually produce an annual report that explains their work over the past year, how they have met their legal duties, and what priorities they have set for the year ahead. This annual report must be made public so that local communities can see what is being done.
Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs)
One of the most sensitive responsibilities of an adult safeguarding board is carrying out a Safeguarding Adults Review. A SAR happens when:
- An adult with care and support needs dies as a result of abuse or neglect, and there is concern that partner agencies could have worked better
- An adult survives but has experienced serious harm, and there is similar concern about why safeguarding did not prevent it
The purpose of a SAR is not to place blame. It is to learn from what happened and find ways to improve safeguarding practice in future. This can involve looking at how information was shared, whether risks were recognised in time, and whether agencies followed procedures.
Recommendations from a SAR are shared with all partners and often lead to changes in training, policy, and practice.
Involvement of the Community and Service Users
Safeguarding Adults Boards must consider the views and experiences of people in the community, including those who have been at risk of harm. This can help the board understand how well safeguarding services are meeting the needs of adults in real situations.
This involvement might be through:
Listening to real-life experiences can lead to improvements that make safeguarding more effective and respectful.
Preventing Abuse and Neglect
Adult safeguarding boards do not focus only on responding after harm occurs. Preventing abuse is an important part of their role. This can include raising awareness about safeguarding in the community, so that people know what signs to look out for and how to report concerns.
Preventive work can involve:
- Public campaigns
- Training sessions for carers and workers
- Working with local banks to spot signs of financial exploitation
- Providing guidance to organisations on safer recruitment of staff and volunteers
By preventing harm before it happens, SABs can save lives and improve people’s quality of life.
Promoting Multi-Agency Cooperation
The effectiveness of an SAB depends on strong cooperation between agencies. Adult safeguarding is often complex because different agencies may have information about an individual that needs to be shared.
Safeguarding boards create a structure for regular meetings, joint training, and information sharing protocols. This helps to make sure that all relevant organisations are aware of risks and are clear on how to respond.
When agencies work together under the guidance of the SAB, they can respond faster and prevent gaps where someone might be overlooked.
Accountability and Transparency
Safeguarding Adults Boards must be accountable to the public and to the authorities that fund their work. They achieve this through:
- Public annual reports
- Open engagement with local communities
- Clear evidence of following the Care Act duties
- Regular reviews of their own policies and procedures
Transparency helps build public confidence that agencies are serious about protecting adults at risk.
Challenges in the Work of SABs
The work of adult safeguarding boards can be challenging. Safeguarding cases often involve sensitive personal details and require balancing the rights of the adult with actions needed to prevent harm. Limited resources, staff shortages, and complex local needs can make coordination difficult.
Despite these challenges, SABs aim to keep the safety and well-being of adults at risk firmly at the centre of their work.
Final Thoughts
Adult safeguarding boards hold a leadership role in coordinating protection for vulnerable adults across agencies. Their duties go beyond responding to abuse. They build systems that prevent harm, develop policies to guide staff, review serious cases to learn lessons, and involve the community in shaping safeguarding work. By bringing together the local authority, police, NHS, and other partners, SABs make sure that no vulnerable adult is left without support. The strength of safeguarding in a local area depends greatly on the effectiveness of its board, and their commitment to continuous improvement makes a real difference to the safety of adults at risk.
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