Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

135 Functions and procedures of Safeguarding Boards

(1) The objectives of a Safeguarding Children Board are—

(a) to protect children within its area who are experiencing, or are at risk of, abuse, neglect or other kinds of harm, and

(b) to prevent children within its area from becoming at risk of abuse, neglect or other kinds of harm.

(2) The objectives of a Safeguarding Adults Board are—

(a) to protect adults within its area who—

(i) have needs for care and support (whether or not a local authority is meeting any of those needs), and

(ii) are experiencing, or are at risk of, abuse or neglect, and

(b) to prevent those adults within its area mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) from becoming at risk of abuse or neglect.

(3) A Safeguarding Board must seek to achieve its objectives by co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of what is done by each person or body represented on the Board.

(4) Regulations must—

(a) provide for a Safeguarding Board to have functions relating to its objectives (including, for example, functions of review or investigation);

(b) make provision as to the procedures to be followed by a Safeguarding Board;

(c) specify when and how children or adults who are, or may be, affected by the exercise of a Safeguarding Board’s functions must be given the opportunity to participate in the Board’s work.

(5) A Safeguarding Board may cooperate with another one or more Safeguarding Boards.

(6) A Safeguarding Board may act jointly with another one or more Safeguarding Boards in relation to their combined areas and if they do so—

(a) references in this Part to a Safeguarding Board are to be read as references to the Boards acting jointly, and

(b) references in this Part to a Safeguarding Board area are to be read as references to the combined area.

(7) The Safeguarding Children Board and the Safeguarding Adults Board for an area may form a joint board for the area, and if they do so—

(a) the joint board is to have the objectives in both subsections (1) and (2), and

(b) references in this Part to a Safeguarding Board are to be read as references to the joint board.