Lack of safeguarding referrals sparks concern

27 June 2011 3 mins read Neil Puffett Social Care Safeguarding and child protection

The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has warned that incidents and suspicions of abuse are going unrecorded as it emerged that referrals to the body have remained static, despite an extra five million employees and volunteers becoming subject to vetting and barring checks.

Latest figures released to CYP Now reveal that there were 5,357 "valid referrals" to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) in 2009/10. That figure was expected to increase after new legal duties on referrals were introduced on 12 October 2009, when around five million more jobs and voluntary positions became subject to checks.

But for 2010/11, the number of referrals has remained almost unchanged, at 5,361.

The ISA said there could be "confusion" among employers, voluntary organisations, and charities about what they should report and who they should report it to following reviews of vetting and barring procedures launched by successive governments, and parts of the scheme being shelved.

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