Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Acknowledged
The three statutory partners (police, health, and local authorities) of multi-agency safeguarding partnerships’ have a...
Conclusion
The three statutory partners (police, health, and local authorities) of multi-agency safeguarding partnerships’ have a shared and equal duty to protect children and young people. We asked who in the system has responsibility for children who fall through the gaps or for identifying overlaps. The Department for Education told us these three bodies do feel jointly responsible and having one person solely responsible risks the other partners disengaging.30 To reflect what local partners are asked to do the Department for Education told us a new child protection ministerial group had met for the first time in October 2022 to bring together national representatives of the local safeguarding partners.31
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the shared duty of police, health, and local authorities in safeguarding partnerships, highlighting commitments to strengthen multi-agency arrangements and rolling out responses to reviews and exploring how education can be strengthened, including consulting on whether or how it should become a safeguarding partner.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3.2 The government is committed to strengthening local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. Stable Homes, Built on Love: implementation strategy and consultation published in February 2023 set out commitments to ensure that all agencies play a full role in protecting and promoting the welfare of children and young people. 3.3 Following the publication of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel national review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, and the Independent Review for Children’s Social Care, Ministers from the Department for Education, Home Office and Department for Health and Social Care wrote to all local authorities, police and health authorities (the three safeguarding partners) to put out a call to action to take forward the important recommendations. 3.4 The DfE has already started rolling out its response to these recommendations. In November 2022, the new cross-government Child Protection Ministerial Group was established. It is supported by the newly formed Multi-Agency Safeguarding Partner Performance Board made up of senior officials across government. 3.5 The DfE has developed a support offer to multi-agency safeguarding arrangements so that agencies work together more effectively. The department has extended a national offer of support to safeguarding partners led by health, police and local authority National Facilitators. Alongside this, the Panel are developing a support offer to maximise the impact of learning from safeguarding reviews, a pilot of which will begin in Spring 2023. 3.6 The DfE will further strengthen multi-agency leadership by amending guidance to safeguarding partners. This will ensure leaders with the right level of authority are making key decisions and effectively overseeing the system. The department will also explore how the role of education can be strengthened, including consulting on whether or how it should become a safeguarding partner. The department will also build on its support offer to safeguarding partners once their roles and responsibilities have been clarified next year in Working Together. 3.7 The department will continue to monitor safeguarding partners through single agency inspections and through joint targeted area inspections. This government is prepared to intervene where arrangements are not fit for purpose.