Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of safeguarding arrangements for adults receiving care in community-based settings in Surrey Heath constituency.

Any form of abuse or neglect is unacceptable. Local authorities have a statutory duty to make enquiries about safeguarding concerns under the Care Act 2014.

Where a local authority has reasonable cause to suspect that an adult in the local authority’s area has care and support needs and appears to be at risk of, or experiencing, abuse or neglect, and is unable to protect themselves as a result of those needs, the local authority must carry out a safeguarding enquiry.

The Government makes it clear, in the statutory guidance of the Care Act 2014, that local authorities must ensure that the services they commission are safe, effective, and of high quality.

The Care Quality Commission has powers to assess how well local authorities in England are delivering their adult social care duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. Surrey County Council was scored a two for the Safeguarding Quality Statement in their assessment, published 20 November 2024. This score indicates evidence of some shortfalls and areas for improvement, such as the need to fully embed processes in place and ensure all staff had adequate and relevant safeguarding training. The assessments will facilitate the sharing of good practice and innovation across local authorities.