As part of our ‘Safeguarding in the community’ series, we hosted a webinar with the Social Care Institute for Excellence on partnership working. 

Reflecting on this excellent session, I wanted to distil some practical tips for housing and care providers being asked to participate in safeguarding investigations and meetings.

Responding to information requests

When receiving a request for information, pause and take a moment to ensure you understand what is being asked for and the practicalities of fulfilling this.

• Understand the scope: What information is required? How much interaction did your organisation have with the individual or household?
• Plan your response: Who should lead? Who needs to contribute? Do you need input from contractors or third parties?
• Manage expectations and deadlines: Whilst you should seek to cooperate with any safeguarding processes, there would be no expectation for you to respond to requests that are unreasonable, excessive or disproportionate. If this is the case, push back and agree on a way forward. If the timeframe is unrealistic, request an extension. Rushing to meet an unrealistic deadline can lead to organisations providing inaccurate information or saying they can’t find relevant documents, which are then found later.
• Strengthen your systems: An organisation’s ability to respond to a safeguarding request will be built on the strength of its systems of recording and data management. Ensure all interactions and decisions (including the reasons for them) are fully and clearly recorded, with those records and, in particular, any key interactions or concerns accessible to all teams across the business.
• Information sharing with contractors: You should be confident that your contractors have appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place, will raise concerns with you, have clear record management systems and will respond promptly when you ask for information.

Attending meetings and reviews

Your frontline insight is invaluable - make the most of your role:

• Engage fully: Contribute confidently and challenge constructively to ensure fair, effective outcomes.
• Ensure you know the process: Request copies of relevant policies and procedures and review these.
• Review documents: Check previous minutes and any documents provided in advance of a meeting carefully. After meetings, review draft minutes and reports carefully - these may be used in evidence for other legal processes, e.g., inquests. 

Respond and reflect realistically

• When reflecting on practices as part of the safeguarding process, avoid extremes - being overly critical or defensive can both be harmful.
• Acknowledge the limits of your role and highlight good practice where appropriate too.
• If you commit to taking actions, ensure timelines are realistic and clearly communicated to all partners. Don’t overpromise.

When to seek legal advice

You can seek legal advice where a request for information is received from a safeguarding authority or in relation to a safeguarding investigation or meeting. 

This may be necessary if:

• A safeguarding process that you are part of feels flawed, or your concerns are ignored.
• There are other legal proceedings (e.g., inquests) running alongside safeguarding investigations. These processes often overlap, and reports from the safeguarding process can be used and relied upon in the other proceedings.  

If you require advice on your safeguarding obligations or any safeguarding meetings/investigations, please get in touch.