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Chapter 4: Inquiries
1. This chapter covers section 4 of the Act which places a duty on councils to make inquiries about an adult at risk's well-being, property or financial affairs where the council knows or believes intervention may be necessary to protect the adult.
When should a council make inquiries?
2. Section 4 of the Act places a duty on councils to make inquiries about a person's well-being, property or financial affairs if it knows or believes:
- that the person is an adult at risk, and
- that it might need to intervene (under the Act or otherwise) in order to protect the person's well-being, property or financial affairs.
3. A council may be assisted in its duty to inquire through various sources, for example informal carers, independent sector providers and advocacy to statutory agencies.
What might trigger an inquiry?
4. Any report that an adult may be at risk of harm, including anonymous referrals, should be taken seriously. Cases must be considered with an open mind without assuming that harm has, or has not, occurred. All referrals warrant a carefully considered and measured response and should be acted upon as a source of information that may or may not lead to this being used as evidence at a later stage. Information should be passed onto the relevant social work department and/or the police, in line with local arrangements as detailed in the local authority adult protection guidelines. All councils should have systems in place to screen potentially malicious allegations.
5. It would be best practice to ensure that any member of the council's staff who may be a first point of contact with the public is aware of the main provisions of the Act and that they must make appropriate referrals to the social work services.
Initial inquiries
6. Inquiries under section 4 of the Act will be carried out by the council's social work services and should follow adult protection procedures. The council may consult with other agencies and conduct preliminary inquiries to establish where there is genuine cause for concern or intervention. Other professionals, such as the police or health professionals, may be asked to assist.
7. The system must be both flexible and professional in its approach. Some individuals will be known to services already and in those circumstances it may be helpful for them to have an initial discussion with a familiar person such as a home support worker rather than a professional with whom they may have had no previous contact. With others, it may be enough to have a discussion with the adult. The opportunity for a conversation may give individuals the information they need to enable support to be put in place for themselves or a carer, or to assist that person in making choices. However there will be cases where some form of intervention is required.
Possible requirement for intervention outwith the Act
8. The next steps resulting from the duty to inquire could involve a wide range of voluntary or compulsory interventions. The "need to intervene" may also be met by using appropriate provisions contained in other legislation or by taking action on an informal basis.
9. Where the person has a mental disorder, action under the 2003 Act may be appropriate. Where a person has impaired capacity an order or the appointment of a proxy under the 2000 Act may be appropriate. It may be that it would be appropriate to provide care and support under the 1968 Act. In some cases, particularly in those where the adult has capacity, assistance may be provided to the adult by, for example, ensuring that they have access to suitable advice and support, should they wish to access it.
10. Where inquiries under Section 4 have indicated that a criminal offence has been committed against the adult known or suspected to be at risk, the role of the police in investigating crime should not be undermined. It would be best practice to seek assistance and co-operation from the police as the police may wish to carry out a criminal investigation. This does not remove the responsibility on the council to take any immediate action to protect the adult at risk in such cases but any proposed action would be taken in consultation with the Police.
11. It would be best practice to ensure wherever practicable the adult is kept fully informed at every stage of the process.
Where no action is required
12. The council may decide that nothing further needs to be done. It would be expected that this conclusion would only be arrived at after a range of inquiries have been carried out.
13. Where it is decided that no further action is required, it would be expected that the council would produce a report on the circumstances which gave rise to the initial inquiries, the actions taken and why they believed that no further action was required. The report should then be added to the person's case file. If there is no extant case file, the local authority should keep a record of the referral in line with their standard means of recording referrals.
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