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<p>The Care Act for the first time will put adult safeguarding on a legal basis. The
new measures require local authorities to carry out a safeguarding enquiry where they
suspect a person is at risk of abuse or neglect and consider what if any actions are
needed, and who should carry these out.</p><p> </p><p>The safeguarding duties are
triggered on the basis of suspecting that an adult with care and support needs may
be at risk of abuse or neglect. This rightly does not have an eligibility threshold,
or require a particular level of need before the duty to carry out an enquiry is required.
If we were to treat the risk of abuse and neglect separately in the eligibility criteria,
then a person's level of risk would have to meet the eligibility threshold before
they became eligible for the local authority to meet their need.</p><p> </p><p>The
Act is clear that safeguarding responsibilities sit alongside the other elements of
the care and support system, including assessment of needs. The draft guidance clarifies
that where a local authority has started a safeguarding enquiry, it should continue
the needs assessment for care and support in parallel, and determine whether the person
has eligible needs which it must meet.</p><p> </p><p>This approach will ensure that
the local authority identifies both risks of, and responses to, abuse or neglect,
as well as identifying the person's eligible needs which must be met through care
and support.</p><p> </p><p>The draft regulations and guidance which support implementation
are subject to public consultation until 15 August 2014.</p><p> </p>
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