Functions of LSCBs
5.—(1) The functions of an LSCB in relation to its objective (as defined in section 14(1) of the Act(1)) are as follows—
(a)developing policies and procedures for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority, including policies and procedures in relation to—
(i)the action to be taken where there are concerns about a child’s safety or welfare, including thresholds for intervention;
(ii)training of persons who work with children or in services affecting the safety and welfare of children;
(iii)recruitment and supervision of persons who work with children;
(iv)investigation of allegations concerning persons who work with children;
(v)safety and welfare of children who are privately fostered;
(vi)co-operation with neighbouring children’s services authorities and their Board partners;
(b)communicating to persons and bodies in the area of the authority the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, raising their awareness of how this can best be done, and encouraging them to do so;
(c)monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of what is done by the authority and their Board partners individually and collectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and advising them on ways to improve;
(d)participating in the planning of services for children in the area of the authority;
(e)undertaking reviews of serious cases and advising the authority and their Board partners on lessons to be learned.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(e) a serious case is one where—
(a)abuse or neglect of a child is known or suspected; and
(b)either—
(i)the child has died; or
(ii)the child has been seriously harmed and there is cause for concern as to the way in which the authority, their Board partners or other relevant persons have worked together to safeguard the child.
(3) An LSCB may also engage in any other activity that facilitates, or is conducive to, the achievement of its objective.
Section 14(1) of the Act defines the objective of an LSCB as (a) to co-ordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority by which it is established, and (b) to ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for those purposes.