Safeguarding Adults Board

The Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) is a statutory multi-agency board that is committed to protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It has overall responsibility for co-coordinating safeguarding adult matters and ensuring that partner agencies carry out safeguarding adults work.

The SAB has three core duties

It publishes a strategic plan for each financial year that sets out how it will meet its main objective and what the members will do to achieve this.
It must publish an annual report detailing what the SAB has done during the year to achieve its main objective and implement its strategic plan, and what each member has done to implement the strategy as well as detailing the findings of any Safeguarding Adults Reviews and subsequent action.
It must conduct any Safeguarding Adults Review in line with Section 44 of the Act. A SAR is an in-depth review carried out where someone dies or is seriously injured as a result of neglect and abuse.

Board members and terms of reference

Subgroups

The Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) has four sub-groups that assist the board in meeting its obligations as set out in the Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Adults Board Strategy 2019-24. The sub-groups are chaired by partners from agencies which represent the SAB and meet on either a bi-monthly or quarterly basis. The sub-groups each have their own work programme which can be found on the latest SAB Business Plan.

Learning and communication subgroup

Responsible for seeking ongoing assurance from partners, on behalf of the SAB, of the effective delivery and governance of safeguarding learning, safeguarding practice and development, and safeguarding training within their service.

Community engagement subgroup

Responsible for promoting and raising the awareness of safeguarding across the borough to all residents, developing a culture within safeguarding services that ensures the way we respond to safeguarding is person-centred under the ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ agenda.

Quality assurance and performance subgroup

Responsible for the production of performance data on safeguarding across partner agencies which allows members to collectively interrogate the information, benchmark against each other locally and nationally, influence service improvements and identify what is working well.

Safeguarding Adults Review subgroup

Responsible for commissioning on independent review when an adult at risk dies or is significantly harmed. Also ensure that learning from SARs is taken on board, implemented, and publicised.