October 06, 2026 - 205 views
A new programme designed to strengthen protection for children, young people and adults at risk of abuse and neglect is being launched across Wales.
The Welsh Government says the Stronger Safeguarding for a Safer Wales programme will improve how concerns are identified, information is shared and organisations are held accountable.
That will include a new Ministerial Safeguarding Oversight Board, a safeguarding function within the National Social Care Intelligence Hub and a National Safeguarding Plan and Risk Register.
The changes are intended to help identify warning signs earlier and make sure organisations learn from safeguarding reviews, inspections, data and previous cases.
The issue is also highly relevant in North Wales, where the six local authorities work together through the North Wales Safeguarding Board to protect children and adults at risk.
The board's latest annual report, covering 2025-26, sets out safeguarding work across Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.
The scale of safeguarding activity across Wales is considerable. The latest Welsh Government figures show that 18,169 adults were reported as being at risk of abuse or neglect in 2023-24, up from 15,301 in 2020-21 — an increase of almost 19 per cent.
Of those adults, around one in three were referred to social services more than once during the year, either because of the same category of abuse or a different category.
There is also significant activity around children. In 2023-24, there were 28,126 initial strategy meetings in Wales involving children suspected of being at risk of abuse or neglect. More than 17,700 progressed to formal Section 47 enquiries.
Those figures do not mean that every referral represents confirmed abuse. Safeguarding systems are deliberately designed to respond to concerns at an early stage, including situations where abuse or neglect is suspected rather than proven.
That early intervention is one of the main aims of the new national programme.
The Welsh Government says it wants information from different parts of the safeguarding system to be brought together more effectively, helping agencies spot emerging risks and respond before situations become more serious.
The programme will also put greater emphasis on listening to children, young people, adults at risk, victims and survivors when safeguarding services are designed.
For North Wales, that means the existing regional arrangements will continue to play an important role, while being linked to a more consistent national approach.
The Government says the programme will also provide the foundations for future consultation on proposals for an Adult and Child Protection Authority for Wales, as well as mandatory reporting of abuse.
Deputy Minister for Social Care Delyth Jewell said the aim was to build a system which identifies risks earlier, learns from previous failings and ensures organisations work together to protect people from harm.
Safeguarding is already a statutory responsibility for councils and other organisations across North Wales, with regional arrangements bringing together agencies including social services, health, police and other partners.
The challenge for the new programme will be turning better national oversight and intelligence into improvements on the ground — ensuring that when somebody raises a concern, whether about a child, an older person or another adult at risk, it is heard, shared with the right people and acted upon appropriately.
