Fareham Borough Council's Vulnerability Policy is how we make sure that no one is treated unfairly or left out because they may have a vulnerability. This is a brief overview of the policy, please see the full document for more details or contact us with any questions.

We will do this by:

• Treating everyone as an individual. We will listen to what each vulnerable person needs and try to find the best way to help them.
• We will make sure that all of our letters and messages are easy to understand and available in different ways.
• We will listen to what you tell us. You can share your views with the Council in a number of ways, including letter, online, telephone or in person.

It is difficult to say exactly who is vulnerable. There isn't a single rule that covers everybody or every situation.

Also, someone might not look or feel vulnerable but may still need extra help. Someone who seems to be vulnerable might not feel that way or need support.

If you feel you are a vulnerable person, then please let us know how might be able to tailor our services to you.

This policy is for everyone who uses our services.

This policy can't cover every possible situation where someone might need extra help though. Instead, it shows our promise to treat everyone fairly and with respect when they use our services.

The best way for us to know if someone is vulnerable is if they tell us, or if a friend or family member tells us. If we think that someone is vulnerable, our staff will encourage people to share information so that we can understand what support they might need.

Depending on their role, many of our Council staff are also trained to look for signs that someone might need some extra help.

If we know that someone is vulnerable, we will try and record this (with your permission) so our staff know they might need to do something differently the next time that person uses the service.

If you let us, we may also share this information with other people who need to know, like health professionals or other support services, or people working on behalf of the Council.

If we are told that a vulnerable adult or child is at risk, we will make sure our staff know the correct steps to report this to the Safeguarding Team.

Sometimes, if someone is in serious or immediate danger, or there may be a risk to our Officers, we may need to share this information without asking first. We will only do this if the law allows us to and to make sure people are safe.

This policy will look different for different people and different services. We won't treat everyone and every situation the same, and we will look at what each person needs at that time.

Some examples of how we might help are:

• Agreeing to contact you at certain times, or in your preferred way (telephone, email etc).
• Offering a single person to contact when you need to get in touch with the Council.

We will make it easier to complain about our services. Where we are allowed and within reason, we will make adjustments to our complaints policy to ensure that no one is disadvantaged.

We will also make sure that you are given information on your rights to contact the Ombudsman services.

We can send information in different formats or languages, and we can use interpreters, including British Sign Language. You could also bring someone with you to meetings or ask them to read our letters for you.

When we offer a home, we will look at all the information we have about you and will talk to you about any extra help you may need. We will also work with other teams to make sure that the home is right for you and your family.

Rent must still be paid, but if we know you are vulnerable, we can offer advice and support. We might help you to contact other services or change how and when you pay.

In our Council homes, if someone in your home is vulnerable, we might do repairs more quickly. We might also do extra checks to keep you safe in the event of a fire or other emergency.

We keep all of your information safe and private. We follow the rules in the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Council's Privacy policy. This means we only use your information when we need to and we keep it secure.