Safeguarding Adults Board: sharing information
The document below is currently under review following the change from the West of Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Board to West Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Board. We will update this document once the new version has been produced.
The purpose of the 
Information Sharing Protocol [799KB] is to support the messages that safeguarding is everyone's business, and that clear, timely communication is the responsibility of all partners of the Safeguarding Adults Board.
The protocol covers all of the agencies that form the Safeguarding Adults Board. It provides a framework for making decisions about sharing information in order to help protect vulnerable adults who may be at risk of abuse or neglect.
The Care Act introduces a new duty for Safeguarding Adults Boards. In essence, section 45 of the Care Act means that:
- a person must supply information on request by the Safeguarding Adults Board if they are likely to have information relevant to the board's functions
- the information can be about the person, or a function or activity they engage in, or a person in respect of whom they exercise the function/activity
The power to request information could be used when carrying out a Safeguarding Adults Review, but might also assist in the context of an ongoing safeguarding investigation, particularly if issues are raised about the disclosure of relevant information.
The request places the person it is made to under a duty to disclose. It is the Board rather than Adult Social Care or any other agency which has the power to request disclosure. The Board has agreed an arrangement for requesting information in urgent cases, as outlined in this document:
duty to Apply the SAB's Powers under S45 of the Care Act [221KB] .
