Safeguarding Implications Care Act 2014

Introduction  The Care Act received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014  The Act is in three parts: 1.Care and support 2.Care standards 3.Health  Part 1 of the Act consolidates and modernises the framework of care and support law:  New duties for local authorities  New rights for service users and carers 2

The Care Act 2014 replaces many previous laws … 1970… … 2000… 2010… National Assistance Act 1948 NHS and Community Care Act 1990 Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 Chronically Sick and Disabled Person Act 1970 Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996

What is the Act trying to achieve?  That care and support:  is clearer and fairer  promotes people’s wellbeing  enables people to prevent and delay the need for care and support, and carers to maintain their caring role  puts people in control of their lives so they can pursue opportunities to realise their potential 4

An integrated Act  Different sections of the Act are designed to work together  Local authority wide  Overlap with Children and Families, including transitions  Partnerships and integration  Leadership 5

The framework of the Act and its statutory guidance 6 Assessment and eligibility Charging and financial assessment Care and support planning Personal budgets and direct payments Review Key processes Prevention Integration, partnerships and transitions Information, advice and advocacy Diversity of provision and market oversight Safeguarding General responsibilities and key duties Wellbeing Underpinning principle

The wellbeing principle  Wellbeing broadly defined: 9 areas in particular  Local authorities should also have regard to other key principles when carrying out their activities, such as beginning with the assumption that the individual is best-placed to judge their well-being 7 “The general duty of a local authority, … in the case of an individual, is to promote that individual’s wellbeing”.

Key Points for Safeguarding Local Authority Lead Duty to enquire Safeguarding Adult Boards Safeguarding Adult Reviews Supply of Information Independent Advocacy Support Safeguarding enquiries and reviews  Self Neglect NB From April 2015 each local authority must:  Make enquires,or ensure others do, if it believes is subject to or at risk of abuse or neglect  Set up a Safeguarding Adults Board  Arrange for an independent advocate where appropriate  Cooperate with each of its relevant partners to protect 8

Local Authority Lead Enquiries.  Enquiry- what is it?  Criteria for intervention  Make or cause to be made-delegation  Responses  Financial clause- why specified? Updates the scope of Adult Safeguarding to include, where a LA has reasonable cause to suspect that an adult in its area (whether or not they are ordinarily resident there) has:  Needs for care and support (whether or not the LA is meeting any of those needs  Is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect  As a result of those needs is unable to protect themselves against the abuse or neglect or risk of it. 9

Safeguarding Adult Boards  Mandatory for Local Authorities to set up  Core membership from Police, LA and NHS but with expectations of the widest achievable membership  The boards will have a strategic and leadership function  Reporting and transparency, the power to request information from partners and the responsibility to commission safeguarding adults reviews. The SAB must:  Publish a strategic plan for each financial year  Publish an annual report detailing wht the SAB has done during the year  Decide when a SAR is necessary. 10

Safeguarding Adult Reviews  SARs v SCRs  Mandatory v discretionary  Learning and improvement The new guidance gives the board the flexibility to chose the most appropriate methodology It is expected that partners will cooperate with SAR’s but the board there is also a legal requirement to share information with the board if it requests it to complete its functions 11

Supply of Information  SAB can request information to exercise of functions  Likelihood to hold information  Why share information?  Consequences of not sharing information All agencies should draw up a common agreement to explicitly set out the requirements to share information, any agreed confidentiality boundaries and the acknowledgement of the boards power to request information. It should also set out when information should be shared without the agreement of the individual. 12

Independent advocacy support There must be enough capacity to provide an advocate to individuals who are unable to speak for themselves without support for:(this can include IMCA or IMHA where the criteria is met)  Safeguarding enquiries  Safeguarding Adults Reviews  Support and represent  Independent The Making Safeguarding Personal programme led by ADASS and LGA, with the department of health has gained widespread momentum. It follow the edict of ‘no decision without me’ and means that the adult, their families and carers are working together with agencies to find the right solutions to keep people safe. 13

Planning for people who are at risk of harm including from Self neglect  The person will have been subject to and/or remain at risk of abuse or neglect  They will have been subject to a local authority section 42 enquiry into their situation and will have an agreed safeguarding plan  The plan must actively involve the person in agreeing what outcomes they want and how they will be achieved  While aiming to meet the person’s outcomes the plan must also balance risk appropriately by using the least restrictive options  The plan will be subject to review under the local multi-agency safeguarding procedures 14

Six Principles of Adults Safeguarding  Empowerment -Presumption of person led decisions and informed consent.  Prevention -It is better to take action before harm occurs.  Proportionality – Proportionate and least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented.  Protection -Support and representation for those in greatest need.  Partnership -Local solutions through services working with their communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse.  Accountability -Accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding. 15

Who is a ‘vulnerable adult? The Care Act 2014 definition; “Any person aged 18 or over and at risk of abuse or neglect because of their needs for care and support.” The preferred term is ‘an adult of risk of abuse’ 16

Patterns of abuse  Serial Abuse in which the perpetrator seeks out and ‘grooms’ individuals. Sexual abuse sometimes falls into this pattern as do some forms of financial abuse.  Long-term abuse in the context of an ongoing family relationship such as domestic violence between spouses or generations or persistent psychological abuse  Opportunistic abuse such as theft occurring because money or jewellery has been left around. The Care Act

What is Abuse?  People should not limit their view of what constitutes abuse or neglect, as they can take many forms and the circumstances of the individual case should always be considered. Exploitation, in particular is a common theme in the list of types of abuse and neglect Care and Support Guidance

Recognise:  Physical  Psychological  Domestic Violence  Sexual  Financial  Modern Slavery  Discriminatory  Organisational  Neglect  Self Neglect

To take away: Could you be ready to tell the group one thing you are going to implement immediately that’s new? Could you be ready to tell the group one thing you need to find out more about?