Aims and Principles of all Adult Safeguarding

The statutory guidance describes safeguarding as 'protecting an adult's right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect'.

Abuse can take many different forms, including physical violence, sexual abuse, financial exploitation, psychological abuse or coercive control.

Neglect may be the result of a deliberate decision not to provide appropriate care or may be an unintentional outcome of poor care or actions that were reckless. 

Safeguarding duties must be carried out alongside other duties of the Care Act. This includes the duty to Promote Individual Wellbeing, the duty to prevent or reduce the likelihood of further Care and Support needs developing and the duty to provide good information and advice.

For information about these and other general duties of the Act, see General Responsibilities of Local Authorities.

The aims of safeguarding under the Care Act are both reactive and proactive as follows:

1. To prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect to adults with Care and Support needs;
2. To stop abuse or neglect wherever possible;
3. To safeguard adults in a way that supports them to make choices and have control about the way they want to live;
4. To promote an approach that concentrates on improving life for the adult (s) concerned;
5. To raise public awareness so that communities as a whole, alongside professionals, play their part in preventing, identifying and responding to abuse and neglect;
6. To provide information and support in accessible ways to help people understand the different types of abuse, how to stay safe and well and what to do to raise a concern about the safety or Wellbeing of themselves of another adult; and
7. To address what has caused the abuse or neglect.

The statutory guidance sets out a number of steps that the Local Authority should take to achieve the aims. They should:

1. Ensure that everyone that works with adults who have Care and Support needs (either directly or indirectly) is clear about their safeguarding role and responsibilities;
2. Create strong multi-agency partnerships that are able to provide effective and timely responses to abuse, and also work effectively and proactively to prevent abuse and neglect from occurring;
3. Support a positive learning development environment across all agencies involved so they are able to break down risk adverse cultures that seek to scapegoat or blame practitioners;
4. Enable access to mainstream community resources that can reduce social and physical isolation (two factors known to contribute to the risk of abuse and neglect); and
5. Have a clear response to concerns that are raised about poor quality or inadequacy of service provision.

The Care Act statutory guidance defines 6 principles that should underpin all safeguarding functions, actions and decisions. Each principle is accompanied by its own 'I' statement clearly explaining what the principle would feel like in action to an adult affected by safeguarding. Often the principles are referred to solely as 'I' statements.

In addition to the 6 key principles, it is important to recognise that safeguarding arrangements are there to protect adults who will all have their own preferences, histories and lifestyles. Safeguarding processes must not be so prescriptive that the individual wishes and circumstances of the people affected cannot be taken into account. Making safeguarding personal is an approach to safeguarding that is person-led and outcomes-focussed. The adult should be engaged in conversations about how best to respond in a way that enhances their involvement, choice and control as well as improving their quality of life and their safety.