Sharing Information
The purpose of the Information Sharing Protocol is to support the messages that safeguarding is everyone’s business, and that clear, timely communication is the responsibility of all partners of the Safeguarding Adults Board.
Information Sharing Protocol
The Information Sharing Protocol covers all of the agencies that form the Safeguarding Adults Board. It provides a framework for making decisions about sharing information in order to help protect vulnerable adults who may be at risk of abuse or neglect.
The Care Act introduces a new duty for Safeguarding Adults Boards. In essence section 45 of the Care Act means that:
- A person must supply information on request by the SAB if he/she is likely to have information relevant to the SAB’s functions.
- The information can be about the person, or a function or activity they engage in, or a person in respect of whom they exercise the function / activity.
The power to request information could be used when carrying out a Safeguarding Adults Review, but might also assist in the context of an on-going safeguarding investigation, particularly if issues are raised about the disclosure of relevant information. The request places the person it is made to under a duty to disclose. It is the Board rather than Adult Social Care or any other agency which has the power to request disclosure. The Board has agreed an arrangement for requesting information in urgent cases, as outlined in this document, duty to Apply the SAB’s Powers under S45 of the Care Act