Persons in a Position of Trust (PiPoT)
The purpose of this guidance is to provide a framework for managing cases where allegations have been made against a person in a position of trust (PiPoT) and is focused on the management of risk based on an assessment of abuse or harm against an adult with care and support needs. It provides a framework to ensure appropriate actions are taken to manage allegations, regardless of whether they are made in connection with the PIPOT’s employment, in their private life, or any other capacity.
Click on the guidance below
Allegations against People in Positions of Trust (605.94 KB)
Northwest PIPoT policy (606.05 KB)
This guidance applies to the local authority, all partner agencies and commissioned local authorities' relevant partners, and those providing care and support services.
What is excluded from this policy?
If an allegation is made that does concern the actions of a professional, or volunteer which relates to alleged abuse or neglect of a person with care and support needs and this amounts to a safeguarding enquiry, then such an allegation should be dealt with by following the local adult safeguarding policies and procedures. Such procedures should include directions about how such allegations are referred and investigated.
Safeguarding is not a substitute for:
- providers’ responsibilities to provide safe and high quality care and support
- commissioners regularly assuring themselves of the safety and effectiveness of commissioned services
- the Care Quality Commission (CQC) ensuring that regulated providers comply with the fundamental standards of care or by taking enforcement action
- the core duties of the police to prevent and detect crime and protect life and property
Therefore, careful consideration should be given to distinguish clearly between:
- a complaint about a professional, or volunteer
- concerns raised about the quality of practice provided by the person in a position of trust, that do not meet the criteria for a safeguarding enquiry.
Other relevant bodies and their procedures should be used to recognise, respond to and resolve these issues.
At any stage the Local Authority Adult Safeguarding Team can be contacted for advice.
Tel 01925 442115
To discuss/raise a referral, please refer to the below contact details
Adult Safeguarding Managers: 01925 442115
Email completed concern form to: AdultSafeguardingManagers@warrington.gov.uk
PiPoT Referral Form for Professionals
For concerns about a person in a position of trust in relation to adults working with children, please follow the LADO guidance
LADO guidance
Contact the LADO
Tel: 01925 442079
Email: LADO@warrington.gov.uk
The Disclosure and Barring Service
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was created by the Protection of Freedoms Act (2012) and helps to prevent unsuitable people from working with children and adults.
The DBS assesses the risk of harm that an individual would pose if they were to work with vulnerable groups, based on information held about that individual.
They will use information from a number of sources including the Police, Local Authorities and employers. The DBS consists of trained case workers, who will decide on a case-by-case basis whether a person poses a potential ongoing risk.
The Care Act Statutory Guidance (sections 14.62 and 14.203) states that if someone is removed by being either dismissed or redeployed to a non-regulated activity, from their role providing regulated activity following a safeguarding incident, or a person leaves their role (resignation or retirement) to avoid a disciplinary hearing following a safeguarding incident and the employer/volunteer organisation feels they would have dismissed the person based on the information they hold, the regulated activity provider has a legal duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
If an agency or personnel supplier has provided the person, then the legal duty sits with that agency. In circumstances where these actions are not undertaken then the local authority can make such a referral.
There are three levels of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Each contains different information and the eligibility for each check is set out in law. They are:
- Standard check: This allows employers to access the criminal record history of people working, or seeking to work, in certain positions, especially those that involve working with children or adults in specific situations. A standard check discloses details of an individual’s convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings recorded on police systems and includes both ‘spent’ and ‘unspent’ convictions
- Enhanced checks: This discloses the same information provided on a Standard certificate, together with any local police information that the police believe is relevant and ought to be disclosed
- Enhanced with barred list checks: This check includes the same level of disclosure as the enhanced check, plus a check of the appropriate barred lists. An individual may only be checked against the children’s and adults’ barred lists if their job falls within the definition of ‘regulated activity’ with children and/or adults under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
It should be noted that in ‘signing off’ or agreeing a personal budget or personal health budget a local authority may add conditions such as a DBS check as part of its risk assessment of safeguarding in specific cases.