Visits to and meetings at private residences are unlikely to
arise.
The primary consideration when deciding whether to conduct a
meeting at a private residence is the safety of the staff
attending. The current departmental guidelines on personal safety
in and out of the office are set out in the leaflets Your Safety
and Managers Guide. All staff should have their own copy of the
leaflet Your Safety which is pocket sized to allow it to be carried
more easily. Each office should have a copy of the Manager's Guide,
which gives more detail on good practice.
There is a one-day training course on personal safety
available to staff who make outdoor visits.
Responsibility for observing these guidelines rests with the
manager. If either the manager or member of staff conducting the
visit is concerned about the area or person to be visited, the
purpose of the visit should be critically reviewed and
consideration should be given to accompanying the compliance
caseworker, cancelling the meeting or rearranging the meeting at
official premises.
In addition to the health and safety aspects staff should be
aware of the potential for discussions to be misrepresented or
allegations to be made concerning conduct. Such assertions may be
made irrespective of location but are less likely following a
meeting held at official premises. Where a meeting at a private
residence is contemplated it will be normal for two members of
staff to attend.
Staff should ensure that the members of staff at a meeting
reflect the genders of the interviewees as far as possible. For
example it would not be appropriate for two male officers to attend
a meeting with a lone female interviewee.
The purchaser's agent (where the purchaser is represented)
should be encouraged to attend the meeting. Alternatively the
purchaser may wish to have a friend or relative present.
In addition to the usual notes of meeting, one officer should
also make a separate note of the conduct of the visit, giving an
accurate account of what happened (for example, if a guided tour of
the premises was given). The notes of conduct should be agreed and
signed by both officers and sent (together with the signed notes of
the meeting) to the purchaser/agent for agreement in the normal
way. See
SDLTM81670.
If a compliance caseworker makes separate private notes of
their impression of the visit these notes may be reviewed by the
Adjudicator, or the Ombudsman, in the event of a complaint. The
notes may also be released to the purchaser under the Data
Protection Act.
The compliance caseworker’s impressions should be based
on the evidence they have seen and must not include any unsupported
allegations or remarks that might be regarded as defamatory.
In only exceptional circumstances, and with the authorisation
of a compliance manager, should unaccompanied meetings, previously
arranged, be held at the purchaser’s residence. This would
cover cases of
