SAR thresholds

Under the Care Act (2014), a Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) is required to commission Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) under the following circumstances:

1. An SAB must arrange a review of a case involving an adult in its area with needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority has been meeting any of those needs) if:
   a) there is reasonable cause for concern about how the SAB, members of it or other persons with relevant functions worked together to safeguard the adult, and
   b) condition 1 or 2 is met.
2. Condition 1 is met if:
   a) the adult has died, and
   b) the SAB knows or suspects that the death resulted from abuse or neglect (whether or not It knew about or suspected the abuse or neglect before the adult died).
3. Condition 2 is met if:
   a) the adult is still alive, and
   b) the SAB knows or suspects that the adult has experienced serious abuse or neglect.

SABs can decide to undertake a SAR in any other situations involving an adult in its area with needs for care and support.

Reviews should determine what the relevant agencies and individuals involved in the case might have done differently that could have prevented harm or death.

This is so that lessons can be learned from the case, and those lessons applied to future cases to prevent similar harm from occurring again. The apportioning of blame is not the purpose of the review.

If you would like to submit a referral for consideration by the Safeguarding Adults Review Core Group please download and complete the SAR referral form.

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