CYP Now
27 May 2016
Proposed changes to local authority safeguarding arrangements including ending the current system of serious case reviews and dropping the requirement for councils to have local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs), risk confusing and distracting the sector, it has been claimed.
Proposed safeguarding reforms present “great opportunities”, but also “significant risks”, David N Jones has said.
The government has backed recommendations from a review into local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs), published yesterday, that the current system of serious case reviews (SCRs) is scrapped and replaced with a new way of investigating child deaths. It has also said it will introduce a new statutory framework that will effectively remove the requirement for councils to have LSCBs. Instead, there will be a requirement on three partners – local authorities, the police and the health service – to make arrangements for working together on child protection in a local area. David N Jones, chair of the Association of Independent Local Safeguarding Board Chairs, said it appears councils will be able to retain an LSCB if they so wish, but it will be at their discretion. He said the review represents the most fundamental change to children’s services since 1970.
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