These terms of reference were last reviewed in March 2026
Purpose
The Audit and Assurance Subgroup is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and quality of the activities performed by all Board partners, both individually and collectively.
Remit
The subgroup is a formally constituted arm of the SSASPB. It fulfils the following list of responsibilities and will:
- Submit a multi-agency annual data set for the Board to consider via the Executive subgroup.
- Determine how and when this data is to be collected and provide regular reports to the Board including analysis of the data.
- Conduct periodic thematic multi agency case file reviews and case file audits, including the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act, DoLS, the quality of the process for investigations and cases where the threshold for an adult abuse investigation has not been met.
- Submit lessons learned and good practice to the Executive, submitting final reports and proposed action plans to the Board for information and approval.
- Maintain an adult safeguarding self-assessment tool and identify a peer review and challenge process. (Tier 2)
- Identify strategies for ascertaining both adults at risk and carers’ views of the services they are receiving and report findings to the Board via the Executive.
- Monitor the effectiveness of the Board against its own business plan and Constitution. (Tier 1)
- Contribute towards an annual report, end of year update and business plan that incorporates the Board’s key strategic priorities.
- Submit a report to the Executive summarising activity against business plans and reporting performance and audit issues by exception.
- Identify the training data which is required to assure the SSASPB that individual organisations are meeting their adult safeguarding training expectations.
Membership and accountability
The subgroup will;
- Be comprised of named representatives of key partner agencies of the Board and those members having sufficient knowledge of interagency working and ways of measuring performance to enable them to contribute fully to the remit of the Subgroup.
- Be extended to other organisations by agreement of the subgroup.
- Be chaired by a strategic adult safeguarding manager of a Board partner organisation and have a vice chair to cover in the Chair’s absence. The chair will be a member of the Executive Group and will attend Executive meetings.
- Meet a minimum of six times a year. This number includes audit focused meetings and also one dedicated to providing the narrative for the performance section of the Annual Report.
- Be accountable to the Executive via the chair and vice chair.
- Be attended by the Board Manager and the Administrator to the Board.
Principles
The sub-group will retain an adult at risk focus to its work and have a regard for to racial diversity, language, culture, sexual identity, age and gender in its approach to all its activities.