Introduction

Chapter 3 identified how safeguarding referrals and assessments were managed within the three local authorities. It established several aspects of the conduct of risk work within adult safeguarding. Knowledge of the legal and policy framework was seen as central to safeguarding practice, although this knowledge was viewed as somewhat ambiguous at times. Risk knowledge was also provided through ICT systems, although this was seen as partial and somewhat difficult to access. Interventions were shaped through agency models of practice. Differences were noted between Fosborough, which opted to conduct short-term safeguarding work remotely by telephone and using online formats, and the other local authorities, in which safeguarding teams and adult community teams had a closer relationship. The ICT systems played a central role in interventions across all local authorities, allowing social workers to identify priority cases. However, the information on these systems was viewed as partial, with the assessment process being viewed as one in which social workers brought existing information together and established where further information was required. Professional decision-making and cultural knowledge within teams informed this process. Social relations were core to the assessment process, with social workers aiming to assess the intentions of people making referrals. As Chapter 3 identified that law and policy was a central part of risk, knowledge, this chapter zooms in on how social workers understood this.

Historically speaking: Social workers’ perceptions of law and policy changes

In the previous chapter, I identified how the Care Act 2014 was central to social workers’ knowledge when conducting risk work. This was evident in social workers’ screening and assessment work, in which they referenced the Care Act 2014, statutory guidance and local policy while also drawing on professional decision-making and team culture. Risk work theorists note that although practitioners draw on forms of knowledge, they may also question it (Brown and Gale, 2018a). Such questioning was notable in the accounts of social workers in my study. They did not just accept current law and policy, but sought to understand the changes which had occurred over time. Their accounts focused on the importance of including service user wishes. For example, Marcia stated: