Safeguarding partners have a legal duty to work together to protect children and promote their welfare. But which piece of legislation requires safeguarding partners to do this?
The legal framework is set out in Section 16E of the Children Act 2004, which was introduced by the Children and Social Work Act 2017. It establishes the duty for safeguarding partners in England to make multi-agency arrangements to safeguard children.
In this guide, you’ll learn which legislation applies, who the three statutory safeguarding partners are, and what their responsibilities involve. Let’s explore.
Which Piece of Legislation Requires Safeguarding Partners?
Section 16E sets out how safeguarding partners must arrange to work together with relevant agencies. These arrangements help partners identify and respond to the needs of children in their local area.
As discussed earlier, Section 16E of the Children Act 2004 was introduced by the Children and Social Work Act 2017. To understand how these two Acts work together, read on.
The Children Act 2004, Section 16E
Section 16E of the Children Act 2004 sets out the legal duty for safeguarding partners in England to make arrangements to work together. These arrangements must also help partners identify and respond to children’s needs.
The section identifies three statutory safeguarding partners for each local authority area. It also provides for other relevant agencies to work with them as part of local safeguarding arrangements.
The Children and Social Work Act 2017
The Children and Social Work Act 2017 introduced Section 16E into the Children Act 2004. This change created a legal duty for safeguarding partners to work together with relevant agencies. The aim is to safeguard children and promote their welfare.
Before this change, Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) coordinated local safeguarding arrangements. The 2017 Act introduced a new approach. It made the three statutory safeguarding partners responsible for establishing these arrangements.
What Does Section 16E Require?
The main requirement of Section 16E is that safeguarding partners must involve relevant agencies in their multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
Now you may ask why working together was so emphasised. Working together helps organisations with information sharing. The information helps them to respond appropriately and identify risks earlier. Once the risk is identified, they can respond to children’s needs more effectively.
Information sharing must be necessary, proportionate, relevant and secure. It should only be shared with people who need it to safeguard the child.
MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) is one approach used by agencies to share information and respond to safeguarding concerns. To understand how these hubs work, read our guide on what MASH is in safeguarding.
What Are the Three Statutory Safeguarding Partners?
The three statutory safeguarding partners are the local authority, the relevant Integrated Care Board and the chief officer of police. Their responsibility is to coordinate local arrangements to safeguard children.
The Local Authority
The local authority plays a key role in protecting children in its area. It leads children’s social care services and assesses concerns about children’s safety. It also arranges support or protection when needed.
Through multi-agency working, the local authority, police, health services and other relevant agencies can identify risks and respond to safeguarding concerns.
The Integrated Care Board
The Integrated Care Board (ICB) represents the NHS in local safeguarding arrangements.
As a safeguarding partner, its role is to ensure that NHS services play their part in safeguarding. The services include GPs, hospitals, community health services and mental health services.
The Chief Officer of Police
The chief officer of police is the senior police leader responsible for law enforcement in the area. They make sure the police contribute effectively to local child safeguarding arrangements.
As a safeguarding partner, their role is to investigate allegations and incidents of abuse, neglect or exploitation. By sharing the information with other safeguarding partners, they help to identify risks.
What Must Safeguarding Partners Do?
In the previous section, we explained the roles of the three statutory safeguarding partners. Now, let’s look at the specific duties they must fulfil under the law.
- Publish local safeguarding arrangements. These explain how partners and relevant agencies will work together.
- Provide strategic leadership and apply lessons from local and national safeguarding reviews to improve multi-agency working.
- Arrange independent scrutiny. This helps to assess the effectiveness of local safeguarding arrangements.
- Publish a report at least every 12 months. The report should explain their achievement, impact on children and families, and areas for improvement.
What happens if safeguarding partners fail to work together?
Working together has both advantages and disadvantages. Poor communication and weak multi-agency cooperation can leave gaps in child protection and put children at risk of harm. It can lead to problems such as:
- Important warning signs go unnoticed.
- Help may not be provided in time.
- The information may not reach the relevant professionals.
- Agencies may fail to coordinate their actions
If you identify a possible safeguarding issue, it is important to know how to report it through the appropriate channels. Our guide explains how to report a safeguarding concern and what steps to consider.
As you can see, because of this failure, the result could be really harmful. So, safeguarding partners can improve their arrangements through the following measures:
- Make sure that the information reaches the relevant professionals.
- Set clear and concise responsibilities for each agency. If needed, the three partners should hold a meeting on how they should work together.
- Assess the process of the local safeguarding arrangements work.
- Provide joint safeguarding training
- Listen to children and families and use their feedback to improve
FAQ
How do safeguarding partners review their local arrangements?
Safeguarding partners check their work by hiring independent inspectors to test the system and writing a public report every year. If a child or adult is badly hurt, they do a quick 15-day review. They also make sure local schools, police, and hospitals are working well together.
Does the duty to have safeguarding partners apply across the UK?
No, this rule is only for England. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have different laws and names for their systems. However, everywhere in the UK, the police, health workers, and local councils must legally work together and share information to keep children and vulnerable adults safe from harm.
The Children Act 2004 vs the Children and Social Work Act 2017?
The Children Act 2004 created Local Safeguarding Children Boards. These boards coordinated local safety. The Children and Social Work Act 2017 replaced them in England. It created Safeguarding Partners. Now, three groups share total responsibility. These are the council, the police, and health bosses. They must plan, fund, and check safety together.
Conclusion
Which piece of legislation requires safeguarding partners? Section 16E of the Children Act 2004 sets out this legal duty in England.
The Children and Social Work Act 2017 introduced Section 16E. This law requires the three statutory safeguarding partners to work together to safeguard children. Working together means sharing information with relevant agencies, identifying risks early and coordinating responses to protect children from harm.
Understanding these legal duties helps professionals protect children and promote their welfare. So, keep up with current legislation and guidance and ensure effective safeguarding practices.
