Do I always need the adult's consent to report a safeguarding concern?

No - you do not always need consent to report a safeguarding concern.

Sharing information for the purpose of safeguarding adults is different to for example, seeking consent when a service will be provided.

Sometimes you have to raise a safeguarding concern without consent, for example if someone else may be at risk, a crime may have been committed, to prevent harm, or the person does not have capacity to make that decision.

You must apply the Data Protection Act 2018 which includes 'safeguarding of children and individuals at risk' as a condition that allows practitioners to share information without consent.

Where possible and if it will not cause further harm, keep the adult informed of your actions. This fits with the Making Safeguarding Personal approach.

Always record your decisions and the reasons for them about sharing or not sharing information.

Please refer to the Good Practice Toolkit, Collaborative Working and Information Sharing between Professionals to Protect Adults, which includes the Data Protection Act 2018 safeguarding exemption and lawful grounds to share information. It is on Good practice guidance for professionals.

What if a person does not want you to share their information?

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has written guidance for practice, including:

• reasons to override a person's request not to share information
• what to do to support the person where you decide not to share information

SCIE - Sharing information - person does not want you to share information