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Foreword

The Protection of Vulnerable Adults - POVA - scheme will act as a workforce ban on those professionals who have harmed vulnerable adults in their care. It will add an extra layer of protection to the pre-employment processes, including Criminal Records Bureau checks, which already take place and stop known abusers from entering the care workforce.

Along with initiatives such as 'No secrets' and 'In safe hands' and other specific measures to prevent and tackle adult abuse, it will complement the Government's drive to raise standards across health and social care. Raising standards is an end in itself, but it is also the best way to protect vulnerable adults who, when they are harmed, are usually harmed because of care professionals' lack of knowledge or skill rather than out of malice.

The POVA scheme will involve additional paperwork and other administrative procedures for providers of care. It may mean that providers of care have to re-think offering care positions to certain individuals, which may in turn involve re-running recruitment exercises. However, when making referrals to, and checks against, the POVA list, providers of care - like the rest of us - should not lose sight of the reasons for the POVA scheme and the intended outcomes. It is to ensure that those individuals with a track record of poor practice, or who are intent on harming vulnerable adults, have no hiding place in the care workforce. Sadly, in recent years, there have been too many instances where vulnerable adults have been harmed in situations where they should have protected by either professionals or family members, in care setting or their own homes.

For their part, as the POVA scheme is implemented, councils with social services responsibilities and their local NHS and police force partners, should not under-estimate the important work they have done, and need to do, with regard to 'No secrets' and 'In safe hands'. In particular, they should ensure that the general public is made aware of adult abuse and what to do if the experience it or see it.

By working together, we can make sure that vulnerable adults get the respect and care that they deserve. I am sure that providers of care and other stakeholders will work hard to ensure that the POVA scheme is a success.

STEPHEN LADYMAN
Minister for Community Care

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