Statutory adult safeguarding function
Muckamore Abbey Inquiry · Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry Report · Issued 18 June 2026 · Addressed to: Department of Health NI
Government responseNo response yet
DeliveryDepartment of Health NI states no delivery position (Jul 2026)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Vulnerable children and adults are inherently more susceptible to abuse or neglect than other people. Adult safeguarding should be formally recognised as a statutory function, equivalent to child protection.
Muckamore Abbey Inquiry, Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry Report · 18 Jun 2026 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
In July 2026, Mike Nesbitt, Minister of Health, stated that officials were preparing a paper for consideration by the Adult Safeguarding Transformation Board on making adult safeguarding a delegated statutory function equivalent to child protection (Mike Nesbitt, Jul 2026). The Minister explained that this work would be informed by legal advice and would consider this recommendation alongside any others that may impact the Adult Protection Bill (Mike Nesbitt, Jul 2026). The record holds no update since the Department of Health NI's response of July 2026 (Mike Nesbitt, Jul 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
Government response
●No formal government response recorded
The Index has not yet recorded a verbatim government response to this recommendation.
Delivery
●Department of Health NI states no delivery position · 24 Jul 2026
The Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry Report details a number of important recommendations such as giving adult safeguarding equivalent status to child protection and making it a delegated statutory function. Officials are preparing a paper for consideration by the Adult Safeguarding Transformation Board, which will be informed by legal advice. This will include this consideration of this recommendation and any others which may impact on the Adult Protection Bill.
From: AQW 49720/22-27 (Northern Ireland Assembly written question: adult safeguarding as a statutory function equivalent to child protection), Mike Nesbitt, Minister of Health (Northern Ireland)
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.