Resident guidance: All Housing residents - Last updated 26 June 2026
Safeguarding
If you ever feel there is immediate danger to you or someone else please dial 999.
At Anchor we are committed to ensuring that everyone living and working with us is kept safe, are supported to stay well and to live full and happy lives and remain at the centre of any decision.
We take our safeguarding duties towards all residents seriously and have good mechanisms in place to ensure your wellbeing. This page outlines how you can report a safeguarding concern, how we will investigate, the support we will provide and the action we will take.
In this guidance you'll find:
- What is safeguarding?
- Safeguarding adults at risk
- Safeguarding children
- How to report safeguarding concerns
- What support will Anchor provide to residents experiencing or at risk of abuse?
- How Anchor will investigate safeguarding concerns and the steps we take to address them
- Further information, support and resources
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the protection of an individual’s right to live safely, free from abuse and neglect. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.
Safeguarding adults at risk
As a social housing provider, Anchor has both an ethical and regulatory duty under the Care Act 2014 to promote resident wellbeing, participate in safeguarding through recognising and reporting concerns, and to work in collaboration with Local Authorities, regardless of resident tenure.
Safeguarding duties apply to an adult who:
- Has needs for care and support (whether provided by the local authority or not)
- Is experiencing, or at risk from abuse or neglect
- As a result of care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect.
The following six principles from the Care Act underpin our approach to safeguarding adults:
- Empowerment
- Prevention
- Proportionality
- Protection
- Partnership
- Accountability
As an adult, you have the right to choose and to make decisions regarding your life and the risks you wish to take. To ensure safeguarding is personal it needs to be person-led and outcomes focused. We will work with residents establish what being safe means to you and how this can be best achieved.
Safeguarding children
A child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. ‘Children’ therefore means ‘children and young people’. While we provide services for adults aged 55 and over, children do visit and spend time in Anchor locations, and we understand our role in their protection.
Anchor has a legal duty under the Children's Act to safeguard and protect the wellbeing of children. This means we must report all identified concerns about the safety and wellbeing of any child we encounter to the relevant agencies.
How to report a safeguarding concern
You can report all safeguarding concerns for other Anchor residents or children connected to an Anchor location in several ways:
- Online: Complete our online reporting form here
- Location manager: You can speak to your location manager in person, over the phone, by email, or by letter
- Email: Send an email to [email protected] with "Safeguarding" in the subject line. Your report will be assessed by the Customer Experience Hub and forwarded to the most appropriate member of staff
- Phone: Call 0800 731 2020 or in or out of hours call 0300 123 7101 to speak to Anchor on Call.
What support will Anchor provide to residents experiencing or at risk of abuse?
Anchor offers a victim-focused approach to support. You will have the option to:
- Choose whether or not to report the abuse to the police
- Be referred to specialist services for support
Additionally, we can:
- Support you to consider your housing options
- Provide temporary accommodation as a short-term safe space
- Carry out risk assessments to ensure the correct level of support and safety measures are put in place.
Support may also include sharing information with other professionals including emergency services, obtaining specialist advice, and exploring legal options if needed.
How will Anchor investigate safeguarding concerns and what steps can Anchor take to address them?
We will always follow a victim led and trauma informed approach on reports of abuse or potential abuse. We understand the victim/survivors voice, and choice, for how they wish to proceed is paramount and unless there are serious and immediate concerns which we are obligated to report to relevant agencies with or without consent, we will always respect resident choice.
Where we have serious concerns for a persons safety or wellbeing we will consider the most appropriate and safe course of action to take.
If the person causing the abuse is also a resident:
- Information will be collated (e.g. incident timeline and witness statements)
- We will always try to support all persons involved in reports of abuse as we understand there may be underlying issues that can be the root cause of incidents.
- Advice and warnings can be issued to the person causing the abuse
- Legal action may be considered. This will include injunctions and/or possession proceedings
If the person causing the abuse is not an Anchor resident:
- We can help with target hardening and safety. This can include changing locks, securing the premises, providing you with a safe word for On Call, issuing banning letters, or securing an order to exclude the person causing the abuse.
Further information, support and resources
For additional information and support please contact Anchor using the details above or speak to your location manager. The following websites also offer useful information and advice:
More guidance about neighbourhoods and communities
Related information for residents on how, together, we can make sure our communities are places where you and your neighbours love living in later life.
