Getting it right for adults at risk

People An older person with a walking frame
ViewsJune 24th, 2013

The safeguarding section of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill is arguably one of the most transformative parts of the legislation and is long overdue.

Age Cymru’s Rule Out Abuse campaign called for legislation to strengthen adult protection processes. We are pleased the Welsh Government has accepted many of the campaign’s recommendations with new duties on public bodies to investigate, report, cooperate and provide information if they suspect abuse or neglect may be taking place. However, we believe that several key areas require further attention.  

Adults at risk definition

There are significant weaknesses with the proposed definition of an adult at risk. The Bill states that to qualify as an adult at risk, a person must have care and support needs and be unable to protect themselves as a result of those needs.  This is a problem because a person may not have identified care and support needs until they are being abused. Therefore it should not be a pre-requisite. They may well be in need of support as a result of the abuse itself. We fear that people in such situations could be excluded; therefore the definition requires an amendment.

Adult protection and support orders

These orders currently allow a power of entry for practitioners, but there has been consensus amongst most organisations giving evidence that the powers should go further.  We believe that powers of intervention should include injunction orders and removal powers, the aim of which would be to reduce the risk posed to the individual in the most supportive and least restrictive means possible. Evidence from Scotland shows similar powers in the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 are only invoked in extreme situations but act as a significant deterrent.

Welsh Government has said that if abuse was identified it would be a criminal matter and picked up by other agencies. We accept that this might be the case in instances of physical or sexual violence; however in other situations (such as emotional abuse or neglect) it may not be so straightforward. We fear that in the worst case scenario, an adult known to be at risk could be left in an even more dangerous environment.

Definition of neglect and corporate accountability

The Bill refers to “abuse or neglect”, but neglect is not currently defined. In the recent Operation Jasmine case (on neglect in care homes), charges could not be brought on the basis of wilful neglect as it was difficult to prove an omission of duties. It is important to learn from such cases and prevent similar situations from happening again. We therefore believe it would be beneficial to include a broad definition in the Bill.  

Further to this there is ongoing discussion as to whether legislation should include corporate accountability for institutional abuse and neglect. In cases like Operation Jasmine, it has not been possible to prosecute the individuals responsible, nor their employers. Social care providers clearly have a serious responsibility for the health and well-being of many people but there is currently no corporate accountability. Age UK and other organisations are calling for the English Care Bill to be extended to rectify this. We believe the Welsh Government must commit to ensuring that forthcoming legislation as it relates to Wales addresses the issue of corporate neglect to fully safeguard adults at risk.

Access to independent advocacy

Access to independent advocacy is a crucial issue in safeguarding. Independent advocacy can help to redress the power imbalance that occurs in abuse and can enable the person to have a voice and take back some control.  The Deputy Minister for Social Services has now released a statement on plans to extend the provision of independent advocacy within the Bill. Importantly it includes a commitment for regulations to require that independent advocacy is provided to people when the local authority is investigating a concern of risk or abuse.

 There is much work still to be done but this is an important step forward. It is vital that these positive intentions are translated into reality through the legislation to deliver real voice and control for people in Wales.

 Amy Clifton is Policy Advisor at Age Cymru 

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