What is the Safeguarding Adults Board?

Safeguarding Adults Boards were established under Section 43 of the Care Act 2014, and each local authority must set up a SAB.

The main objective of a SAB is to assure itself that local safeguarding arrangements and partners act to help and protect adults in its area who meet the following criteria:

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

These are known as the Section 42 (or S42) criteria.

The Board is a partnership of local agencies that all work with and support adults in Nottingham City. It leads adult safeguarding and has a role in coordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of agencies, but it is not accountable for the operational work of the individual agencies. It does not have the power to direct others but does have a role in making clear where improvements need to be made. 

What the Board must do:

• Publish a strategic plan which is reviewed annually
• Publish an Annual Report
• Conduct Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) in accordance with Section 44 of the Care Act

What the Board doesn’t do:

• Receive or process safeguarding referrals
• Have involvement in operational cases
• Act as an industry regulator for agencies involved in safeguarding
• Process or manage complaints about agencies or staff members

Who is this website aimed at?

This website is mainly aimed at professionals working in Nottingham City that work with or support adults, with a range of resources to help front line practice.

The website also contains some useful information for members of the public which can be accessed here, although we would recommend that members of the public also access the Nottingham City Council Adult Social Care hub where you can request support and advice, tell someone if you have concerns by making a safeguarding referral, and access a range of information on preventative and community care options that can support you (or those you are acting on behalf of) to remain independent and prevent the need for long term care. You can also contact the Nottingham Health and Care Point on 01158 763330.

Are the Board involved in safeguarding cases?

The Safeguarding Adults Board is an independent strategic partnership of agencies that come together to look at the wider safeguarding system and so have no involvement in individual cases and do not have access to any social care records or systems.

What are Safeguarding Adults Reviews?

Section 44 of the Care Act 2014 requires Safeguarding Adults Boards (SAB) to conduct a Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) in certain situations.

• When a SAR is needed:
  • An adult with care and support needs dies or suffers significant harm due to abuse or neglect.
  • There is concern that partner agencies could have worked better to protect the person.
• Purpose of a SAR:
  • To learn lessons for the future, not to blame individuals or organisations.
  • To improve safeguarding practices across all involved organisations.
• SARs and other investigations:
  • SARs are separate from other investigations (e.g., police, CQC, Coroner).
  • They can consider findings from these other investigations.

SARs should seek to determine what the relevant agencies and individuals involved in the case might have done differently that could have prevented harm or death. This is so that lessons can be learned from the case and those lessons applied to future cases to prevent similar harm occurring again.

Its purpose is not to hold any individual or organisation to account. Other processes exist for that, including criminal and disciplinary procedures, employment law and professional regulatory bodies such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council for example. SARs are completely separate from other investigations that may be occurring, for example by the Police, CQC or Coroner, although they can still take account of the findings of those investigations.

How can you be involved in the Board’s work?

As practitioners in statutory, commissioned and voluntary and community sector organisations, you can:

• Access and use the SAB policies, procedures and guidance
• Access and use the 7 Minute Briefings
• Attend free webinars and use the resources we share for National Adult Safeguarding Awareness Week in November every year
• Attend our Annual Conference (details are published nearer the time)
• Champion the voice of lived experience through our subgroups, surveys and events
• Link in with our new Comms and Engagement Subgroup (coming soon in 2025!)
• Embed the learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews in your practice an share with your teams

What about safeguarding children?

If you are worried about a child, please click here – this link will take you to the Nottingham City Council website where you will find information about what to do, how to make a referral, and information about the Nottingham City Safeguarding Children Partnership.