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Recommendations: 1 - 5 | 6
- 11 | 12 - 17
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This section brings together the recommendations that are to be
found in the Report. The way in which local authorities name committees
and officers can vary. For ease of reference, the recommendations
are expressed in the terms of the Local Authorities Personal Social
Services Act 1970. To the left of each recommendation is an indication
of the timescale for action:
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1 means the recommendation should be implemented within
three months.
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2 means the recommendation should be implemented within
six months.
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3 means the recommendation should be implemented within
two years.
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Of the 108 recommendations in this Report, 46 are under '1' and
a further 36 are under '2'. This means that some 82 of the recommendations
could be acted upon within six months.
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The paragraph numbers that follow the recommendations are cross-references
to the paragraphs in this Report in which they can be found.
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Recommendations: 1 - 5
| 6 - 11 | 12 - 17
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Recommendation 1 With the support of the Prime Minister,
a ministerial Children and Families Board should be established
at the heart of government. The Board should be chaired by a minister
of Cabinet rank and should have ministerial representation from
government departments concerned with the welfare of children and
families. (paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 2 The chief executive of a newly established
National Agency for Children and Families will report to the ministerial
Children and Families Board. The post of chief executive should
incorporate the responsibilities of the post of a Children's Commissioner
for England. (paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 3 The newly established National Agency
for Children and Families should have the following responsibilities:
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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• to assess, and advise the ministerial Children and Families
Board about, the impact on children and families of proposed changes
in policy;
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• to scrutinise new legislation and guidance issued for
this purpose;
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• to advise on the implementation of the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child;
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• to advise on setting nationally agreed outcomes for children
and how they might best be achieved and monitored;
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• to ensure that legislation and policy are implemented
at a local level and are monitored through its regional office network;
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• to report annually to Parliament on the quality and effectiveness
of services to children and families, in particular on the safety
of children. (paragraph 17.97)
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Recommendation 4 The National Agency for Children and
Families will operate through a regional structure which will ensure
that legislation and policy are being implemented at a local level,
as well as providing central government with up-to-date and reliable
information about the quality and effectiveness of local services.
(paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 5 The National Agency for Children and
Families should, at their discretion, conduct serious case reviews
(Part 8 reviews) or oversee the process if they decide to delegate
this task to other agencies following the death or serious deliberate
injury to a child known to the services. This task will be undertaken
through the regional offices of the Agency with the authority vested
in the National Agency for Children and Families to secure, scrutinise
and analyse documents and to interview witnesses. I consider it
advisable that these case reviews are published, and that additionally,
on an annual basis, a report is produced collating the Part 8 review
findings for that year. (paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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Recommendations: 1 - 5
| 6 - 11 | 12 - 17
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Recommendation 6 Each local authority with social services
responsibilities must establish a Committee of Members for Children
and Families with lay members drawn from the management committees
of each of the key services. This Committee must ensure the services
to children and families are properly co- ordinated and that the
inter-agency dimension of this work is being managed effectively.
(paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 2 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 7 The local authority chief executive should
chair a Management Board for Services to Children and Families which
will report to the Member Committee referred to above. The Management
Board for Services to Children and Families must include senior
officers from each of the key agencies. The Management Board must
also establish strong links with community-based organisations that
make significant contributions to local services for children and
families. The Board must ensure staff working in the key agencies
are appropriately trained and are able to demonstrate competence
in their respective tasks. It will be responsible for the work currently
undertaken by the Area Child Protection Committee. (paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 2 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 8 The Management Board for Services to
Children and Families must appoint a director responsible for ensuring
that inter-agency arrangements are appropriate and effective, and
for advising the Management Board for Services to Children and Families
on the development of services to meet local need. Furthermore,
each Management Board for Services to Children and Families should:
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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• establish reliable ways of assessing the needs and circumstances
of children in their area, with particular reference to the needs
of children who may be at risk of deliberate harm;
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• identify ways of establishing consultation groups of both
children and adult users of services. (paragraph 17.97)
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Recommendation 9 The budget contributed by each of the
local agencies in support of vulnerable children and families should
be identified by the Management Board for Services to Children and
Families so that staff and resources can be used in the most flexible
and effective way. (paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 2 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 10 As part of their work, the government
inspectorates should inspect both the quality of the services delivered,
and also the effectiveness of the inter-agency arrangements for
the provision of services to children and families. (paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 2 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 11 The Government should review
the law regarding the registration of private foster carers. (paragraph
17.97)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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Recommendations: 1 - 5
| 6 - 11 | 12 - 17
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Recommendation 12 Front-line staff in each of the
agencies which regularly come into contact with families with children
must ensure that in each new contact, basic information about the
child is recorded. This must include the child's name, address,
age, the name of the child's primary carer, the child's GP, and
the name of the child's school if the child is of school age. Gaps
in this information should be passed on to the relevant authority
in accordance with local arrangements. (paragraph 17.97)
Timescale for action 1 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 13 The Department of Health should amalgamate
the current Working Together and the National Assessment
Framework documents into one simplified document. The document should
tackle the following six aspects in a clear and practical way:
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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• It must establish a 'common language' for use across all
agencies to help those agencies to identify who they are concerned
about, why they are concerned, who is best placed to respond to
those concerns, and what outcome is being sought from any planned
response.
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• It must disseminate a best practice approach by social
services to receiving and managing information about children at
the 'front door'.
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• It must make clear in cases that fall short of an immediately
identifiable section 47 label that the seeking or refusal of parental
permission must not restrict the initial information gathering and
sharing. This should, if necessary, include talking to the child.
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• It must prescribe a clear step-by-step guide on how to
manage a case through either a section 17 or a section 47 track,
with built-in systems for case monitoring and review.
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• It must replace the child protection register with a more
effective system. Case conferences should remain, but the focus
must no longer be on whether to register or not. Instead, the focus
should be on establishing an agreed plan to safeguard and promote
the welfare of the particular child.
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• The new guidance should include some consistency in the
application of both section 17 and section 47. (paragraph 17.111)
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Recommendation 14 The National Agency for Children and
Families should require each of the training bodies covering the
services provided by doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers,
officers working in housing departments, and social workers to demonstrate
that effective joint working between each of these professional
groups features in their national training programmes. (paragraph
17.114)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 15 The newly created local Management Boards
for Services to Children and Families should be required to ensure
training on an inter-agency basis is provided. The effectiveness
of this should be evaluated by the government inspectorates. Staff
working in the relevant agencies should be required to demonstrate
that their practice with respect to inter-agency working is up to
date by successfully completing appropriate training courses. (paragraph
17.114)
Timescale for action 2 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 16 The Government should issue guidance
on the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998, and
common law rules on confidentiality. The Government should issue
guidance as and when these impact on the sharing of information
between professional groups in circumstances where there are concerns
about the welfare of children and families. (paragraph 17.116)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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Recommendation 17 The Government should actively explore
the benefit to children of setting up and operating a national children's
database on all children under the age of 16. A feasibility study
should be a prelude to a pilot study to explore its usefulness in
strengthening the safeguards for children. (paragraph 17.121)
Timescale for action 3 See table at top of page
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