Guidance on use of the MARAC referral and MASH enquiry form in Devon County Council Area

When Should I use This Form?

This form is for use by professionals to submit cases to be considered by one of the four MARAC’s in Devon where a risk assessment has been conducted and identified that a person (over 16) is at risk of serious harm as a result of domestic abuse.  It can also be used to jointly refer such cases into the Devon Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) where there are children resident in the household or have regular contact that might put them at risk of significant harm.  This form also contains the information previously captured on the ‘Information Sharing Without Consent’ form.

What Is Domestic Abuse… a reminder:

In March 2013 the Government amended the definition of domestic violence and abuse to include those aged 16 years and over and to include coercive control.  The revised definition states: “Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour,  violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass, but is not limited to, the following types of abuse:

  • psychological
  • physical
  • sexual
  • financial
  • emotional

What does the MARAC do…a reminder:

A Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) is a meeting where information is shared on the highest risk domestic abuse cases between representatives of local police, probation, health, child protection, housing practitioners, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) and other specialists from the statutory and voluntary sectors. After sharing all relevant information they have about a victim, the representatives discuss options for increasing the safety of the victim and turn these into a co-ordinated action plan. The primary focus of the MARAC is to safeguard the adult victim. The Devon MARACs have also established a firm link with the Devon MASH through this dual referral form to ensure that there is appropriate consideration of safeguarding children.

Threshold for MARAC

Prior to referral a CAADA DASH or ACPO DASH (police only) risk assessment should be used to identify the perceived level of risk that the Victim might be at.

Cases referred to MARAC must satisfy the requirement that there are identifiable indicators that the Victim (over 16) is at risk of serious harm and that the potential event could happen at any time and the impact would be serious.  The Home Office definition of serious harm is ‘A risk which is life threatening and / or traumatic, and from which recovery, whether physical or psychological, can be expected to be difficult or impossible.’

Serious harm can be indicated either through 14 or more positive responses to the DASH risk assessment or through professional judgement.  Where professional judgement is used to assess a victim as being at high risk of serious harm then the rationale for that judgement must be clearly recorded within the ‘Reason for Referral’ box of Section 4.

The Issue Of Consent

The MARAC/MASH referral is the only route which enables a case to be discussed at MARAC, but because the MARAC shares confidential information it can only happen where either there is consent or the exemptions from the Data Protection Act are satisfied, for example it is in the vital interests of the data subject to share that information.   It is good practice to discuss your decision to refer to MARAC with the victim if it is safe to do so. You will need to use your professional judgement to decide whether it is safe.

Equally the issue of sharing information with the MASH in respect of any children needs to be considered and where appropriate this should be by consent.  However, similar to the situation with the adults involved, if it is considered that the children might be at risk of significant harm then it is possible to share information without consent of the child or the adults with PR if by not doing so would put the child at risk.

Proportional Information

Disclosures to MARAC are made under the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act and Caldicott Guidelines. Relevant information can be shared when it is necessary to prevent a crime, protect the health and/or safety of the victim and/or the rights and freedoms of those who are victims of violence and/or their children. It must be proportionate to the level of risk of harm to a named individual or known household.

How Do I Submit the Referral

The form should be submitted by secure email. Please note: referrals must be e-mailed to marac and then also to the mash if a mash enquiry is being made.

Contact Details:

MASH enquiries: 

For further information on MASH regarding how we use and process this information, please visit the Devon Children and Family Partnership website.

MARA

MASH related links