National Adult Support and Protection Day (20 February) is a reminder to all to act on any concerns they may have about vulnerable adults and who to contact, with 2025’s focus on Financial Harm Affecting Older Adults.

Reflecting on this theme in the run-up to the day, on Tuesday 19 February 2025, Falkirk Adult Support & Protection and CVS Falkirk & District came together to mark National Adult Support and Protection Day 2025 with a Multi-Agency Conference focused on raising awareness of examples of Financial Harm Affecting Older Adults, but also bringing together a range of local organisations who offer support to those in vulnerable situations.

With around 100 multi-agency staff – across public, third and independent sectors – in attendance, this conference offered a vital opportunity to raise awareness and educate local professionals and community representatives on the role we can all play in protecting older adults against harm.

A key takeaway from this event was the importance of the seemingly mundane when it comes to looking out for signs of financial harm, warning that it can be those most trusted such as friends, family, or neighbours who are more likely to be the perpetrators of inflicting harm. Gemma Ritchie, Adult Support and Protection Lead Officer, said:

“We really want to increase the knowledge of what harm is occurring locally, how to spot the signs and how we can work together to prevent it. But this type of harm is often hidden and people out in communities might well spot something. It’s really important that people trust their instincts and if they see something that doesn’t look right, let us know about it.” (Falkirk Herald)

Opened by Councillor Alf Kelly, Older Person’s Champion, the day featured speakers and workshops focusing on a variety of topics from ‘Financial Harm Investigations’ to ‘Protecting, Preparing, and Forward Planning’ mechanisms. Whilst this event mostly focused on financial harm, both teams are keen to spread the message that supporting vulnerable individuals means looking out for many different forms of harm. Certainly, in their session about Financial Harm Investigations, Gemma and Detective Constable Kevin Martin shared concerning statistics that “104 cases were referred to the Adult Support and Protection team between April and December 2024 – with more than half of these involving adults under the age of 80”. Elaborating on this, the pair highlighted that of those cases reported only 23% resulted in criminal investigations.

Following this, Muleya Mundemba spoke on behalf of Forth Valley Advocacy, stressing the importance of enabling the vulnerable individual to participate, and to have as much control and capacity to influence the outcome of the life they lead. This message was carried further by Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Ray Robertson who highlighted that although the DWP doesn’t have a statutory safeguarding responsibility, through partnerships they aim to get customers the support they require to live their lives fully. Within this attempt to ensure vulnerable people are projected and supported as needed, Fiona Brown spoke on the Role of the Office of Public Guardian, stressing the limitations of their investigations as they investigate only from the point of incapacity rather than a full historical study.

Having now considered the power and limitations of investigators working within these situations, Colin Scott, Community Response Coordinator for Hourglass Scotland, brought the subject to a personal level in his session exploring important indicators of financial harm and exploitation specific to older adults, such as the barriers they face when accessing support and spotting the behavioural signs that they may experiencing abuse. This access to support is vital in maintaining vulnerable adults’ wellbeing, and many staff commented on the importance to them personally of knowing what is available to help alleviate or prevent these situations.

Based on their experiences of supporting older people, Bryan Mackie (Trading Standards Officer) and Lynne Millar (Falkirk Branch Manager, Royal Bank of Scotland) detailed the fraud and scams older adults can be particularly vulnerable to; utilising their frontline experience to highlight practical tools and solutions to help prevent older adults being affected. Alongside this, the Falkirk Council Community Advice Service hosted an interactive workshop offering advice on services preventing social and health inequalities such as welfare benefits, cost of living support, and debt advice. The key takeaway for all community members is that frauds and scams are not restricted to online hackers, but rather there are increasing cases where it has been a betrayal of trust through pretence of offering help – for example, giving someone their bank card and pin number to withdraw money, which is then not spent in the way intended.

Vivienne Malcolm from Solicitors for Older People Scotland and Greg Douglas from Caesar and Howie Solicitors ran a session going through the technicalities of forward planning documents such as Wills, Power of Attorney, and Advance Directives – important tools that can protect all adults in Scotland, particularly older adults, ensuring an adult’s views and wishes are given the upmost importance and that all decisions taken benefit them. It also raised awareness that extreme cases of financial harm can include people misusing their position as Power of Attorney to make decisions of benefit to themselves rather than the person they are supposed to protect.

Within the conference, CVS Falkirk & District’s Safer and Empowered Communities Forum was highlighted as a place to continue third sector partnership learning around similar key issues from community empowerment to safety and inclusion, pledging to continue offering sessions urging all sectors to educate their personal circles on the potential signs that vulnerable older people are being exploited financially. For further information about the Safer and Empowered Community Forum, please contact CVS Falkirk & District by email: info@cvsfalkirk.org.uk, or phone: 01324 692000.

National Awareness Days provide valuable opportunities for community connectivity around important causes; however, CVS Falkirk & District are urging communities not to forget key lessons learned when focused emphasis is lost. To report an issue, visit Falkirk – Act Against Harm or call 01324 506070 (out of hours call 01786 470500).