Safeguarding with Confidence - Cumberlege Report

6.1 Lord Nolan’s review had neither the remit nor the expertise to consider the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. Nevertheless, aware that a number of comparable organisations have a single set of arrangements to cover children, young people and vulnerable adults, its response to calls for its work to be extended into this area was to commend the Church to consider the need for a similar set of uniform arrangements. It also noted “that many of the systems we recommend (for child protection) may be capable of extension to cover vulnerable adults as well”.35

6.2 As a result, COPCA was established as the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults to reflect this broader remit. However, understandably, and as COPCA would be the first to admit, its focus of attention over the past five years has been almost exclusively on the protection of children. This will need to change if the Catholic Church is not to fall behind and find itself in the same position in relation to vulnerable adults as it did five years ago in relation to child protection.

Recommendation 67
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and the Conference of Religious should now adopt comprehensive safeguarding policies and procedures that cover both children and vulnerable adults.

6.3 In recent years awareness has grown as to the true extent and consequences of harm to vulnerable adults.36 Public policy and legislation have similarly developed in response to this increased awareness. The Department of Health in 2000 published No Secrets: Guidance on Developing and Implementing Multi-Agency Policies and Procedures to protect Vulnerable Adults from Abuse. In 2005 the Association of Directors of Social Services published Safeguarding Adults: A national framework of standards and good practice in adult protection work. In 2006 the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act was passed, bringing together safeguarding arrangements for children and adults. All have been informed by a number of major inquiries that have highlighted the abuse of adults in residential care, in services for older people and in mental health and learning disability services.

Residential and community settings

6.4 Catholic organisations and religious orders have a long tradition of providing residential and nursing care and many are still active in this area of work. The regulation of these services falls to the Commission for Social Care Inspection (England) and the Care Standards Inspectorate Wales. There are, however, a significant number of older members of religious orders receiving residential care and support in their own communities. Such settings are by agreement not regulated.

Recommendation 68
The Conference of Religious, the Association of British Contemplatives and the Union of Monastic Superiors should develop systems for monitoring these communities and
ensuring that there is a way for people to report concerns.

6.5 Current public policy encourages support that enables people to live in their own homes in the community rather than in institutional care. So it is important that individuals have access to activities and services in their local community, and the Church has a very important role to play in ensuring that it provides a place where all are welcomed, treated with respect and are safe from harm.

6.6 The Church has a well-established tradition of welcoming people, who need support, as active members of parish communities. There is also a long-standing commitment to maintain contact with church members who are unable, because of illness or disability, to attend church. This includes visiting people at home and ensuring they receive the sacraments, so that they remain part of the community. There are many examples of churches being actively involved in working with people who are homeless, refugees and asylum seekers - sometimes even providing temporary accommodation. This work is valued and an integral part of the Church’s life and clearly founded on gospel values. We wish to see this strengthened and supported but want to ensure that due care is taken to secure the safety of all those involved.

6.7 There are a number of settings in which clergy and lay workers are in contact with adults who could be vulnerable to abuse:

• Chaplains and visitors to hospitals, residential and nursing homes, prisons and other establishments.
• Priests, Deacons and Eucharistic ministers visiting people in their own homes to take communion.
• Parish volunteers and members of organisations such as the St Vincent de Paul Society visiting people in their own homes and organising events on church premises.
• Events including organised trips and pilgrimages, for example to Lourdes, for disabled people.
• Vulnerable adults attending church services and church events.

6.8 Where staff, including chaplains, and volunteers are recruited by establishments which are already regulated they should be checked and vetted through that establishment’s systems. Where parish and Catholic Society workers, for example the Vincent de Paul Society and the Legion of Mary, are involved in any of the work listed above they should be subject to the same level of checking and vetting through the diocesan or religious congregation systems currently used for those working with children

Definitions

6.9 Some of those who gave evidence to the Commission suggested that the definition of a vulnerable adult should be widened to cover those who are temporarily vulnerable because of circumstances such as bereavement or family breakdown. We believe that to do so would be unhelpful, would blur boundaries and almost certainly lead to inconsistencies of approach. Instead, we have recommended Codes of Conduct for clergy, religious and Church workers (see chapter 2) that would, if accompanied by a properly functioning complaints system, be more appropriate to deal with the concerns of those who fall outside of the Government’s definition of vulnerable adults. Such a code would aim to support clergy, religious and others who work or minister on behalf of the Church in their effort to live dedicated and committed lives and it should aim to provide positive guidelines whilst also being clear about the need to protect against harm.

Recommendation 69
The policies and procedures adopted by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and the Conference of Religious for the protection of vulnerable adults should be based on the definition of vulnerable adults set out in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (see Annex H)

Vulnerable adult structures and training

6.10 We are aware that cases involving vulnerable adults are already being dealt with by some Diocesan and Religious Child Protection Commissions though they do so without any dedicated structures or policies to guide them in their work. Not every local Commission believes they are resourced with the necessary skills and staffing complement to take on this additional and growing responsibility and opposition to doing so has been vociferous in some quarters. However, in our view setting up a separate system for safeguarding vulnerable adults would be an unnecessary duplication and wasteful of resources. It would also present some significant challenges in terms of securing representation from other (statutory) agencies. Though some Diocesan and Religious Commissions will require additional members with expertise in adult services many of the Commissions we met already have members with suitable experience. The skills required for professional staff in safeguarding adults and children are similar – even more so now that we are recommending the task of full and proper investigation and enquiry into allegations of abuse should pass to an independent appointed investigator with the relevant (children or vulnerable adult) investigative competencies. However, we do appreciate the workload already undertaken by Local Parish Representatives and Diocesan and Religious Commissions and so it is important that the introduction of safeguarding policies and procedures is carefully carried out with full consultation and a thorough assessment of the impact on present structures and volunteers. The changes should also be closely linked to the introduction of the new Vetting and Barring scheme being introduced by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.

6.11 As a first step we recommend that Diocesan and Religious Child Protection Commissions become Safeguarding Commissions and the designation of Local Child Protection Representatives, Child Protection Officers and Co-ordinators are similarly changed. Training and awareness raising facilitated by the new Safeguarding Officers/Commissions and taught in the seminaries and formation houses must also be expanded to cover vulnerable adults.

Recommendation 70
The Diocesan Child Protection Commissions and Regional Religious Child Protection Commissions should become Safeguarding Commissions responsible for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Recommendation 71
The current training for priests and religious (both in formation in the seminaries and as part of ongoing formation and study days) and other workers in the church should be expanded to include awareness of abuse of vulnerable adults – not least because they may be a very significant source of protection for those adults who are at risk. Commissions and seminaries, supported by the CSAS, will be responsible for undertaking and facilitating such training.

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