Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following information relating to safeguarding activity involving unpaid carers of people living with dementia.
Please provide data for the most recent three financial years available.
1. Safeguarding concerns involving unpaid carers
a. Please provide the number of safeguarding concerns (alerts) recorded where the adult at risk was an unpaid / family carer.
Please specify (where held) the number of these concerns where:
• the source of risk / harm was a person they provide care for
• and the person they care for has dementia
b. Please provide the number of safeguarding concerns (alerts) recorded where the concern was raised about an unpaid / family carer who was not considered an adult at risk.
Please specify (where held) the number of these concerns where:
• the source of risk / harm was a person they provide care for
• and the person they care for has dementia
2. Outcomes of these concerns
Of the concerns identified, please provide the following for concerns identified in Q1a and then repeat this for concerns identified in Q1b:
a. The number that progressed to a Section 42 safeguarding enquiry
b. The number concluded as:
• substantiated
• partially substantiated
• not substantiated (if recorded)
c. The number that resulted in no further action following initial screening
d. Any available data on cases identified in Questions 1a and 1b involving unpaid carers which resulted in:
• emergency respite
• emergency residential placement
3. Carer support and circumstances (where recorded)
For the cases identified in Question 1, please indicate (where held in structured data fields):
Whether the unpaid carer was offered or received a Carer’s Assessment under the Care Act 2014
4. Data recording and alternative information (if exact data not held)
If your safeguarding systems do not allow you to identify cases in the way described above, please provide:
a. A brief description of how carer status and relationships are recorded within safeguarding data systems
b. Whether dementia status of the cared-for person is recorded in a searchable/structured field
c. Any closest available data or proxy measure (e.g. safeguarding cases involving carers where “risk from cared-for person” is recorded, even if dementia cannot be isolated)
d. Does your local authority maintain any specific process, pathway, policy, or guidance relating to safeguarding concerns where the source of the risk is the person being cared for?
e. During the last three years, has your local authority undertaken any audit, review, learning exercise, serious incident review or safeguarding adults review involving harm experienced by unpaid carers.
• If yes, are these publicly available?
Clarifications
• “Unpaid/family carer” refers to individuals providing care in a personal capacity (i.e. not employed or contracted)
• “Dementia” includes all recorded forms (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia)
• Please provide aggregate data only (no personal data required)