Safeguarding Policy.

Last reviewed: 1 September 2025
Next review: 1 September 2026
Policy owner: Safeguarding Lead Trustee, The Devon Farmers' Benevolent Fund

1. Our commitment

The Devon Farmers' Benevolent Fund is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every adult and child who comes into contact with our work. As a charity working primarily with farming households experiencing financial hardship — many of whom are also navigating mental-health distress, rural isolation, bereavement or illness — we take particular care around the wellbeing of adults at risk. Where our work touches the children of farming families or the children attending supported educational projects, we apply equivalent standards of care.

Safeguarding is the responsibility of every trustee, committee member, volunteer and partner acting on our behalf.

2. Scope

This policy covers:

• Adults at risk — defined, in line with the Care Act 2014, as adults with care and support needs who may be unable to protect themselves against abuse, neglect or exploitation. In our context this most often means farming household members experiencing mental-health crisis, physical illness or severe social isolation that affects their capacity to manage their own safety and wellbeing.
• Children and young people under the age of 18 who come into contact with our work — whether as members of a farming family receiving a hardship grant, or as participants in an educational project we have funded.
• All trustees, grants committee members, volunteers, referrers, contractors and partner organisations acting on our behalf.

3. Types of harm we are alert to

Safeguarding concerns may relate to any of the following. We recognise that harm frequently occurs in combination, and that in rural farming contexts some forms are more common than others.

• Self-neglect and mental-health crisis — particularly among isolated, older or bereaved farmers. This is the concern most often raised with us.
• Suicide risk — farming has among the highest occupational suicide rates in the UK; we take any indication of suicidal distress extremely seriously.
• Physical abuse — hitting, physical restraint, or deliberate harm.
• Emotional / psychological abuse — sustained intimidation, coercive control, humiliation.
• Financial abuse — coercion over farm succession, misuse of an adult's assets by a family member, fraud targeting an isolated older farmer.
• Neglect — failure to meet basic needs including for livestock welfare, which in farming contexts can be a signal of a household in severe distress.
• Domestic abuse — within farming households, often compounded by isolation and financial interdependence.
• Sexual abuse and exploitation.
• Discriminatory abuse — harassment or abuse motivated by protected characteristics.
• Abuse or neglect of children in any of the above forms, including peer-on-peer harm in the context of educational projects we fund.

4. Recognising a concern

Safeguarding concerns rarely arrive with clear labels. In our work they often present as worrying indirect signals — a trustee or referrer notices that a farmer is not answering the phone, that livestock care has slipped, that a previously engaged hardship applicant has gone quiet. You do not need certainty to report. A reasonable concern is enough.

5. How to report a concern

Anyone with a safeguarding concern should raise it without delay. Our routes are:

1. Trustees, committee members and referrers — report to the Safeguarding Lead Trustee at safeguarding@devonfarmersbenevolent.org.uk. Keep brief contemporaneous notes of what you observed and who you told.
2. Members of the public — use the email above, or the contact form (select "Safeguarding concern" as the subject).
3. Urgent farmer welfare concerns — please contact the Farming Community Network on 03000 111 999 (daily, 7am–11pm) in the first instance. They are better placed than we are for a same-day welfare check.
4. Life in immediate danger — call 999.
5. Whistleblowing — concerns about the conduct of anyone involved with the charity can be raised in confidence. We are committed to non-retaliation against anyone who raises a concern in good faith.

6. How we respond

On receiving a safeguarding report, our Safeguarding Lead will:

• Ensure immediate safety — this always takes priority. Where appropriate, emergency services or the Farming Community Network will be contacted first.
• Acknowledge the report within 24 hours where practical.
• Record the concern securely and confidentially, in line with our Privacy Policy.
• Assess the information and decide on next steps, including referral to statutory services where appropriate (Devon County Council Care Direct for adults, Devon MASH for children).
• Involve the Chair of Trustees for any concern of significant seriousness.
• Report serious incidents to the Charity Commission in line with their Reporting Serious Incidents guidance.

7. DBS checks and safer recruitment

We apply safer recruitment principles to all trustee and grants committee appointments. Given our work with adults at risk and, indirectly, with children:

• All trustees are subject to the Charity Commission's standard disqualification checks.
• Enhanced DBS checks (Disclosure and Barring Service) are obtained for trustees and grants committee members whose roles involve access to confidential hardship data or direct contact with applicants.
• We take up at least two references for any new trustee or committee member.
• All trustees and committee members sign and date our Code of Conduct and this Safeguarding Policy at appointment.

8. Training

Trustees and grants committee members complete safeguarding training within their first three months of appointment, and refresher training at least every two years. Training covers both adult safeguarding under the Care Act 2014 and children's safeguarding under the relevant statutory framework.

9. Named Safeguarding Lead

Our Safeguarding Lead Trustee is the named contact for all safeguarding matters. Their email address is safeguarding@devonfarmersbenevolent.org.uk. The named individual holding this role is listed in our Trustees' Annual Report.

10. Governance and review

The Board of Trustees receives a safeguarding report at every meeting, and a full annual review. Serious incidents are reported to the Charity Commission in line with their guidance. This policy is reviewed at least annually and whenever there is a material change in law, regulation or the charity's activities.

11. Related policies and external resources

• Code of Conduct for trustees and committee members
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Privacy Policy — including specific protections for hardship application data
• Complaints Policy
• Useful external resources: Farming Community Network, RABI, YANA (You Are Not Alone), Samaritans.

If you cannot find the information you need, please contact our Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@devonfarmersbenevolent.org.uk.