Search Legislation

Children and Social Work Act 2017

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes over time for: Cross Heading: Local arrangements for safeguarding and promoting welfare of children

 Help about opening options

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Children and Social Work Act 2017, Cross Heading: Local arrangements for safeguarding and promoting welfare of children. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

Local arrangements for safeguarding and promoting welfare of childrenE+W

16Local arrangements for safeguarding and promoting welfare of childrenE+W

After section 16D of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 15 of this Act) insert—

Safeguarding partners for local authority areasE+W
16ELocal arrangements for safeguarding and promoting welfare of children

(1)The safeguarding partners for a local authority area in England must make arrangements for—

(a)the safeguarding partners, and

(b)any relevant agencies that they consider appropriate,

to work together in exercising their functions, so far as the functions are exercised for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area.

(2)The arrangements must include arrangements for the safeguarding partners to work together to identify and respond to the needs of children in the area.

(3)In this section—

  • relevant agency”, in relation to a local authority area in England, means a person who—

    (a)

    is specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State, and

    (b)

    exercises functions in that area in relation to children;

  • safeguarding partner”, in relation to a local authority area in England, means—

    (a)

    the local authority;

    (b)

    a clinical commissioning group for an area any part of which falls within the local authority area;

    (c)

    the chief officer of police for a police area any part of which falls within the local authority area.

Commencement Information

I1S. 16 in force at 19.3.2018 for specified purposes by S.I. 2018/346, reg. 3(b)

I2S. 16 in force at 29.6.2018 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(e)

17Local child safeguarding practice reviewsE+W

After section 16E of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 16 of this Act) insert—

16FLocal child safeguarding practice reviews

(1)The safeguarding partners for a local authority area in England must make arrangements in accordance with this section—

(a)to identify serious child safeguarding cases which raise issues of importance in relation to the area, and

(b)for those cases to be reviewed under the supervision of the safeguarding partners, where they consider it appropriate.

(2)The purpose of a review under subsection (1)(b) is to identify any improvements that should be made by persons in the area to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

(3)Where a case is reviewed under the supervision of the safeguarding partners, they must—

(a)ensure that the reviewer provides a report on the outcome of the review;

(b)ensure—

(i)that the reviewer makes satisfactory progress, and

(ii)that the report is of satisfactory quality;

(c)provide the report to the Secretary of State and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

(4)The safeguarding partners must publish the report, unless they consider it inappropriate to do so.

(5)If the safeguarding partners consider it inappropriate to publish the report, they must publish any information relating to the improvements that should be made following the review that they consider it appropriate to publish.

(6)The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about—

(a)criteria to be taken into account by the safeguarding partners in determining whether serious child safeguarding cases raise issues of importance in relation to the area;

(b)the appointment or removal of a reviewer by the safeguarding partners, including provision for a reviewer to be appointed by the safeguarding partners from a list provided by the Secretary of State;

(c)the time when a report is to be provided to the Secretary of State or the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, or published;

(d)the procedure for a review;

(e)the form and content of a report.

(7)In this section “reviewer” means any one or more persons appointed to review a case under the supervision of the safeguarding partners for a local authority area.

Commencement Information

I3S. 17 in force at 19.3.2018 for specified purposes by S.I. 2018/346, reg. 3(c)

I4S. 17 in force at 29.6.2018 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(f)

18Further provision about arrangementsE+W

After section 16F of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 17 of this Act) insert—

16GFurther provision about arrangements

(1)This section applies in relation to arrangements made under section 16E or 16F by the safeguarding partners for a local authority area in England.

(2)The safeguarding partners must publish the arrangements.

(3)The arrangements must include arrangements for scrutiny by an independent person of the effectiveness of the arrangements.

(4)The safeguarding partners and relevant agencies for the local authority area must act in accordance with the arrangements.

(5)Subsection (6) applies where a person is specified in regulations under section 16E(3) for the purposes of the definition of “relevant agency”.

(6)The regulations may make provision for the enforcement against the person of the duty imposed by subsection (4), if the Secretary of State considers that there would otherwise be no appropriate means of enforcing that duty against the person (but the regulations may not create criminal offences).

(7)At least once in every 12 month period, the safeguarding partners must prepare and publish a report on—

(a)what the safeguarding partners and relevant agencies for the local authority area have done as a result of the arrangements, and

(b)how effective the arrangements have been in practice.

Commencement Information

I5S. 18 in force at 19.3.2018 for specified purposes by S.I. 2018/346, reg. 3(d)

I6S. 18 in force at 29.6.2018 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(g) (with regs. 5-7)

19InformationE+W

After section 16G of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 18 of this Act) insert—

16HInformation

(1)Any of the safeguarding partners for a local authority area in England may, for the purpose of enabling or assisting the performance of functions conferred by section 16E or 16F, request a person or body to provide information specified in the request to—

(a)the safeguarding partner or any other safeguarding partner for the area,

(b)any of the relevant agencies for the area,

(c)a reviewer, or

(d)another person or body specified in the request.

(2)The person or body to whom a request under this section is made must comply with the request.

(3)The safeguarding partner that made the request may enforce the duty under subsection (2) against the person or body by making an application to the High Court or the county court for an injunction.

(4)The information may be used by the person or body to whom it is provided only for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1).

Commencement Information

I7S. 19 in force at 29.6.2018 by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(h)

20FundingE+W

After section 16H of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 19 of this Act) insert—

16IFunding

(1)The safeguarding partners for a local authority area in England may make payments towards expenditure incurred in connection with arrangements under section 16E or 16F—

(a)by making payments directly, or

(b)by contributing to a fund out of which the payments may be made.

(2)The payments that may be made include payments of remuneration, allowances or expenses to a reviewer or an independent person.

(3)The safeguarding partners for a local authority area in England may provide staff, goods, services, accommodation or other resources to any person for purposes connected with arrangements under section 16E or 16F.

(4)Relevant agencies for a local authority area in England may make payments towards expenditure incurred in connection with arrangements under section 16E—

(a)by making payments directly, or

(b)by contributing to a fund out of which the payments may be made.

(5)In this section an “independent person” means an independent person mentioned in section 16G(3).

Commencement Information

I8S. 20 in force at 29.6.2018 by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(i)

21Combining safeguarding partner areas and delegating functionsE+W

After section 16I of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 20 of this Act) insert—

16JCombining safeguarding partner areas and delegating functions

(1)The safeguarding partners for two or more local authority areas in England may agree that their areas are to be treated as a single area for the purposes of sections 16E to 16I and subsections (3) to (5) of this section.

(2)References in sections 16E to 16I and in subsections (3) to (5) of this section to a local authority area are to be read in accordance with any agreement under subsection (1).

(3)Where a local authority is a safeguarding partner for the same local authority area as another local authority (as a result of an agreement under subsection (1)), the authorities may arrange for one of them to carry out functions under sections 16E to 16I on behalf of the other.

(4)Where a clinical commissioning group is a safeguarding partner for the same local authority area as another clinical commissioning group, the groups may arrange for one of them to carry out functions under sections 16E to 16I on behalf of the other.

(5)Where a chief officer of police is a safeguarding partner for the same area as another chief officer of police, the officers may arrange for one of them to carry out functions under sections 16E to 16I on behalf of the other.

Commencement Information

I9S. 21 in force at 29.6.2018 by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(j)

22Guidance by Secretary of StateE+W

After section 16J of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 21 of this Act) insert—

16KGuidance by Secretary of State

(1)The safeguarding partners and relevant agencies for a local authority area in England must have regard to any guidance given by the Secretary of State in connection with functions conferred on them by sections 16E to 16J.

(2)Guidance given by the Secretary of State in connection with functions conferred by section 16F may include guidance about—

(a)circumstances in which it may be appropriate for a serious child safeguarding case to be reviewed;

(b)matters to be taken into account in deciding whether a review is making satisfactory progress or whether a report is of satisfactory quality.

Commencement Information

I10S. 22 in force at 29.6.2018 by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(k)

23InterpretationE+W

After section 16K of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 22 of this Act) insert—

16LInterpretation of sections 16E to 16K

In sections 16E to 16K—

  • reviewer” has the meaning given by section 16F(7);

  • safeguarding partner”, in relation to a local authority area, has the meaning given by section 16E(3);

  • serious child safeguarding cases” has the meaning given by section 16B(9);

  • relevant agency”, in relation to a local authority area, has the meaning given by section 16E(3).

Commencement Information

I11S. 23 in force at 29.6.2018 by S.I. 2018/497, reg. 3(l)

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources