Stage 2: Enquiry - Advice for Conducting an Adult Safeguarding Enquiry

Role of the local authority.

The local authority should decide very early on in the process who is the best person/organisation to lead on the enquiry. The local authority retains the responsibility for ensuring that the enquiry is referred to the right place and is acted upon.

If the local authority has caused someone else to make enquiries, it is able to challenge the organisation/individual making the enquiry if it considers that the process and/or outcome is unsatisfactory. In exceptional cases, the local authority may undertake an additional enquiry, for example, if the original fails to address significant issues. The local authority therefore retains oversight and should be able to seek assurance that those enquiries 'caused to be made' are satisfactory.

Causing S.42 Enquiries Letter Template (Word)

Decisions need to consider all relevant information through a multi-agency planning group wherever possible, including the views of the adult taking into consideration mental capacity and consent.

The degree of involvement of the local authority will vary from case-to-case, but at a minimum must involve decision making about how the enquiry will be carried out, oversight of the enquiry, decision making at the conclusion of the enquiry about what actions are required, ensuring data collection is carried out, and quality assurance of the enquiry has been undertaken. 

S42 Enquiry Report Template (Pdf)    S42 Enquiry Report Template (Word Version)

Criminal investigations.

Although the local authority has the lead role in making enquiries or requesting others to do so, where criminal activity is suspected, early involvement of the police is essential. Police investigations should be coordinated with the local authority who may support other actions but should always be police led.

Conversations with the adult - including appropriate support.

In most cases, unless it is unsafe to do so, each safeguarding enquiry will start with a conversation with the adult at risk. The adult and/or their representative should not have to repeat their story. In many cases staff/organisations who already know the adult well maybe best placed to lead on the enquiry. They may be a housing support worker, a GP, or other health worker such as a community nurse or a social worker. While many enquiries will require significant input from a social care practitioner, there will be aspects that should and can be undertaken by other professionals. 

 Points to consider:

• The pace of the conversations. 
• Whether the presenting issues identifies the risk to the adult's safety, or whether there are additional risks to be considered. 
• Wider understanding and assessment of the adult's overall wellbeing. 

The adult should be aware at the end of the conversation what action will be taken and provided with contact details for key people. 

 Objectives:

• Ascertain the adult's views and wishes and preferred outcomes. 
• Assess the needs of the adult in terms of their protection, support and redress, and how these things might be met.
• Protect the person from the abuse and neglect, in accordance with the wishes of the adult where possible. 
• Enable the adult to achieve resolution where possible. 
• Wider potential risk to other adults to be considered. 

Desired outcomes identified by the adult: 

The desired outcome(s) by the adult at risk should be clarified and confirmed at the end of the conversation(s), to:

• Ensure that the outcome(s) are achievable.
• Manage any expectations that the adult at risk may have had. 
• Gove focus to the enquiry. 

Staff should support adults at risk to think in terms of realistic outcomes but should not restrict or unduly influence the outcome that the adult would like. Outcomes should make a difference to risk, and at the same time satisfy the persons’ desire for justice and enhance their wellbeing.

For example: “I want to be safer”; “I want this to stop”; “I want to be in control”; “I want an apology”; “I want justice”; “I want the other person to change what they are doing”; “I want to change what I am doing”; “I want to live somewhere else”; “I want new friends”; “I want to know this won’t happen to anyone else”; “I don’t want anything to change”.

The adult’s views, wishes, and desired outcomes may change throughout the course of the enquiry process. There should be an on-going dialogue and conversation with the adult to ensure their views and wishes are gained as the process continues, and enquiries re-planned should the adult change their views.

Initial Action and Decision Making under Section 42 

Professionals should also read the London Multi-Agency Adult Safeguarding Policy, Practice Guidance and Procedures November 2025 (pages 67-76) for further information on conducting Adult Safeguarding Enquiries, using the checklists and detailed good practice guidance.  

Making Safeguarding Personal during a Safeguarding Enquiry.

Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) is an initiative which aims to develop a person centred and outcomes focus to safeguarding work in supporting people to improve or resolve their circumstances.

 What MSP Seeks to achieve: 

1. A personalised approach enabling safeguarding to be done with and not to people, using practical methods defined by the adults individual needs rather than those of the organisation.
2. The outcomes an adult wants, by determining these at the beginning of working with them, and ascertaining if those outcomes were realised at the end.
3. Improvement to people’s circumstances rather than on ‘investigation and conclusion’.
4. Utilisation of person-centred practice rather than ‘putting people through a process’.
5. Good outcomes for people by working with them in a timely way, rather than one constrained by timescales.
6. Improved practice by supporting a range of methods for staff learning and development.
7. Learning through sharing good practice.
8. Further development of recording systems in order to understand what works well.
9. Broader cultural change and commitment within organisations, to enable practitioners, families, teams and the Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board to know what difference has been made. 

Supporting people living with Dementia to be involved in adult Safeguarding Enquiries (March 2021)

Making Safeguarding Personal | Local Government Association

Local Government Association - Making Safeguarding Personal Toolkit 

The Adult Safeguarding Procedures