The general principle is that local authorities have responsibility for taking any necessary action to safeguard and promote the welfare of any child in their area.
At any stage in the process of working with children and their families, however, the parents and/or the child/children may move from one household to another, with a change of address possibly to another local authority area.
The move may be planned and relevant information shared in advance with the professionals and workers involved with the family and child/children.
In some circumstances, however, the move may take place in haste and as an attempt to avoid the involvement of professionals and agencies. In such circumstances, the agencies involved must assess the impact of the change in circumstances on the child/children and there needs to be clarity about which local authority is responsible for taking any necessary action.
Every effort must be made to ensure that the information to safeguard the child is held where the child is.
The child’s move may be temporary or permanent. An example of a temporary move is where a Looked After child is placed in the area of a different local authority. All such placements will be notified by the local authority looking after the child to the relevant health and education agencies in accordance with their own internal procedures and all changes of addresses must be carefully noted when such notifications are received.
This chapter sets out the actions to be taken in relation to children and families who move across local authority boundaries, either on a temporary or permanent basis, where there is contact with the family by the statutory agencies, and some degree of concern for the child.
Work with children and their families may be taking place in the context of the Common Assessment Framework, or the child may be considered a Child in Need and an Initial Assessment or Core Assessment/Section 47 Enquiry may be in progress when the child/children and family moves to another local authority area.
Each agency should have their own internal procedures which set out how information about children and families is provided to another local authority/health trust/education service/police force area when such movements take place.
A decision must be made by the responsible professionals (in partnership with parents and children whenever possible) where the move is known and planned as to how the information is best shared with the new area.
There should never be any delay in sharing information as all information about a child should be held where the child is residing.
Where there are concerns about a Child in Need who moves across local across boundaries, and a Section 47 Enquiry is being considered or is in progress, it is the responsibility of the local authority where the concerns originated to make decisions as to how to proceed. This, however, must be done in close consultation with the new authority.
If it is agreed by the new authority that the case can be handed over to them, then a transfer of the case can take place but only after written confirmation has been received from the new authority. Cases are deemed to have been transferred only after such written confirmation has been received.
If children and families about whom there are concerns move and cannot be contacted, this in itself will heighten such concerns and lead professionals to consider that the children may be at risk of Significant Harm.
In such circumstances the agencies involved must share information with one another so that every effort is made to locate the child/children and, where Children's Social Care Services are not already involved, consider whether a referral should be made under the Referrals Procedure.
Where the child is already referred to Children's Social Care Services and the child cannot be located, the Missing Children Procedure should be followed.
Where emergency action is required because of concerns that the child is suffering or likely to suffer Significant Harm, the local authority in whose area the child is found is responsible for taking that action.
Where the child is Looked After by or the subject of a Child Protection Plan in another local authority, the first authority should consult the child’s ‘home’ local authority which is responsible for the child in relation to the emergency action. Only when the child’s home local authority explicitly accepts responsibility is the local authority where the child is found relieved of the responsibility to take action. Such acceptance should subsequently be confirmed in writing.
Where further enquiries are required, the agencies primarily involved with the child and family should then assess the needs and circumstances of the child and family, and agree action to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child in the longer term.
Where the concern arises in relation to a Looked After child’s placement, the local authority for the area where the child is placed also has responsibility to ensure that other local authorities who also have placed children in the same foster home or residential setting are aware of the concern or allegation and that consideration is given to protection of other children in the placement. They should also inform the Regulatory Authority.
Where a child subject to a Child Protection Plan moves out of the home area, anyone who becomes aware of the plan to move or the move taking place, must inform the child’s Keyworker or, if not available, the Safeguarding Children Board Manager for the area where the child is.
The Keyworker will:
The Safeguarding Children Board Manager will:
Only when the new area has made a decision whether the child is to become subject to a Child Protection Plan or not should the child’s details be removed from the Record of Children who have a Child Protection Plan in the original area
The date that the child’s name is removed from this Record in the original area will therefore be the date of the Child Protection Conference in the new area when the decision is made.
At the point of notification, the Safeguarding Children Board Manager or their nominated representative in the child’s new area will be expected to:
The relevant children’s social work team will:
A temporary move could cover a range of situations from holiday stays to short stay placement moves to relatives or residential units; the circumstances should always be checked with the child’s Keyworker.
Where it is known that the child has moved out of the area for a temporary period, however long or short, the area where the child is temporarily residing must be provided with the relevant information and contact numbers as follows:
The child's name and details will remain on the Record of Children subject to Child Protection Plans in the permanent home area until the criteria for discontinuing the Child Protection Plan are met – see Section 7, Child Protection Review Conferences Procedure.
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