I would like to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act:
1. The total number of adult safeguarding referrals made against care homes or domiciliary services located in North Devon between 1 April 2024 and 1 April 2025.
There were 37 referrals between 01/04/2024 and 01/04/2025
2. Of these referrals, how many were investigated under Section 42 of the Care Act 2014?
Of these referrals 1 was investigated under Section 42 of the Care Act with an outcome of Risk identified and action taken
If possible, please break down referral numbers by:
* Care home vs domiciliary care (if able)
| Domiciliary care service | 6 |
| Care home service | 31 |
* Outcome of investigation (e.g., substantiated, unsubstantiated, no further action) or status of investigation (e.g., pending, investigating)
| All 3 Section 42 (1) questions are met, proceed to Section 42 | 1 |
| No further action under safeguarding needed | 14 |
| Referral still open and decision not yet made | 22 |
3. Please provide details of how safeguarding referrals are prioritised’ including any internal triage criteria, risk assessment framework, or case prioritisation policies used by the council.
Integrated Adult Social Care use a risk matrix tool to prioritise safeguarding adult referrals in accordance with the level of risk indicated for the adult. Information is gathered for safeguarding adult referrals as part of the triaging role and Section 42 criteria (of the Care Act 2014) is applied to determine if further enquiries are required under Section 42.