The potential uses and abuses of a power of entry for social workers in England: a re-analysis of responses to a government consultation
| Published date | 10 October 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-04-2016-0009 |
| Pages | 256-265 |
| Date | 10 October 2016 |
| Author | Caroline Norrie,Jill Manthorpe,Stephen Martineau,Martin Stevens |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Adult protection,Safeguarding,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Abuse |
The potential uses and abuses of a power
of entry for social workers in England:
a re-analysis of responses to a
government consultation
Caroline Norrie, Jill Manthorpe, Stephen Martineau and Martin Stevens
Caroline Norrie is a Research
Fellow, Jill Manthorpe is a
Professor of Social Work,
Stephen Martineau is a
Research Associate and Martin
Stevens is a Senior Research
Fellow, all at Social Care
Workforce Research Unit,
King's College London,
London, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –Whether social workers should have a power of entry in cases where individuals seem to be
hindering safeguarding enquiries for community-dwelling adults at risk is a topical question in England. The
purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a re-examination of relevant sections of the 2012
Government Safeguarding Power of Entry Consultation.
Design/methodology/approach –Re-analysis of responses to question three of the 2012 Government’s
Safeguarding Power of Entry Consultation was undertaken in late 2015-early 2016. The consultation
submissions were located and searched for information on views of the prevalence of the situations where
access to an adult at risk (with decision-making capacity) is being hindered by a third party and the nature of
examples where a new power of entry might be considered appropriate by consultation respondents.
Findings –The majority of respondents to the consultation generally reported that situations when a new
power of entry would be required were not encountered regularly; however a minority of respondents stated
these situations occurred more frequently. Examples of situations where third parties appeared to be
hindering access were given across the different categories of adults at risk and types of abuse and current
practices were described. Respondents observed that the risks of excessive or inappropriate use of any new
powers needed to be considered carefully.
Originality/value –This re-analysis sheds light on the prevalence and circumstances of the problems
encountered about access to adults at risk. The legal framework of adult safeguarding continues to be of
interest to policy makers, researchers and practitioners.
Keywords Adult safeguarding, Vulnerable adult, Adults at risk, Government consultation, Power of entry,
Right of access
Paper type Research paper
Background
Whether social workers and other professionals should have a power of entry in cases where
individualsseemed to be hinderingsafeguarding enquiriesfor community-dwelling “adults at risk”is
a contentious issue in the UK (Stevens et al., 2016; Stewart and Atkinson, 2012), although this is not
necessarily the case internationally (Stevens et al., 2016). In England “vulnerable adult”is the term
used prior to the introduction of the Care Act 2014 and “adult at risk”has been used there after.
Legislation to grant social workers powers of access to adults at risk with decision-making
capacity has not been introduced in England, although it has been under long consideration in
Received 19 April 2016
Revised 11 July 2016
3 August 2016
Accepted 15 August 2016
The authors acknowledge funding
from the Department of Health
Policy Research Programme.
The views expressed here are
those of the authors and not the
Department of Health. The authors
are grateful to members of the
Unit’s User and Carer Group who
assisted with development of this
study and bring their experiences
to inform and influence the
work of the Unit.
PAGE256
j
THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
j
VOL. 18 NO. 5 2016, pp. 256-265, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203 DOI 10.1108/JAP-04-2016-0009
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