THE County Council has denied allegations that Gloucestershire's adult social care provision standards have dropped.
A report from a Commission for Social Care Inspection said procedures for reporting abuse were too complicated and this was deterring people from speaking out.
A statement from the CSCI said: "The council had previously questioned the judgements made in this assessment but after scrutiny by an independent panel these judgments were fully upheld.
"The Commission believes its judgments are sound, and represent a true and accurate picture of adult social care.
"The Commission does not make these judgements lightly. It has carefully considered a wide range of evidence including interviews and surveys with people using services, staff and local agencies."
Council spokesman Margaret Sheather, group director for community and adult care, said: "We want to learn from inspections but we consider this report to be inaccurate and its judgements largely unhelpful. This makes learning very difficult to do.
"Often, the report only uses one or two examples to draw conclusions about our services. Many of the criticisms are not backed up by sufficient evidence, and many of the recommendations made are already being acted upon – something that CSCI fails to acknowledge.
"The County Council takes the protection of vulnerable people very seriously. We have a strong track record in this area, and will continue to work with our partners in health and the police to make further improvements to our safeguarding measures."
The council says it has created a guide for vulnerable people which helps them to recognise if they are being abused or harmed, as well as training 6,000 staff in safeguarding adults.