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CIRCULAR NO: SWSG 14/97
(Previously numbered SWSG 4/96)
Previous Circular Cancelled: SW 18/1991
8 March 1996
Chief Executives of Unitary Authorities
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Copy to: |
Chief Social Work Officers |
Dear Chief Executive
CHILD PROTECTION: LOCAL LIAISON MACHINERY - CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEES
Summary
1. This Circular provides guidance on child protection committees taking account of the reorganisation of local government on 1 April 1996. It reflects the advice of a working group comprising representatives of existing child protection committees, The Scottish Office and the Crown Office. It asks Chief Executives and chief officers of statutory agencies which have varying public responsibilities for the protection of children from abuse to take action in the light of the guidance. These statutory agencies are
Local authorities (for social work and education functions)
Health boards
Police
Procurator Fiscal service
Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
Circular SW18/1991 is replaced.
Action
2. In recognition of the strategic importance of child protection committees, Chief Executives are asked to initiate discussions with chief officers in those agencies in their areas, in order to agree revised arrangements for such committees from 1 April 1996. Chief officers should accord a high priority to the task of agreeing any necessary changes in the arrangements in their areas.
Background
3. Local child protection committees have been established in all regional and island areas of Scotland. They provide an invaluable forum for facilitating inter-agency working and understanding in child protection. They have helped develop local strategies and joint procedures and they have created a culture in which multi-agency training has come to be recognised as a necessary prerequisite to effective collaboration. Through their contacts with central government, they have been well placed to influence national child protection strategies and policies.
4. With the setting up of the new unitary councils, the existing child protection committee structure and organisation may need to be reviewed and adapted. Where it is decided that new committees are necessary they should build on the legacy of their predecessors.
Transition
5. The process of setting up new committees will be easier to manage if there is as much continuity as is possible between the old and the new. Chief officers will want to draw as far as possible on the experience of personnel who have served on previous committees.
6. New committees may wish to consider the value and suitability of existing inter-agency guidelines. It may be that these could be adopted initially with a minimum of change and reviewed at a later date. Similarly, existing multi-agency training programmes and arrangements may be of use to new committees during the transitional period (and perhaps also beyond that period). Where this is done the management and cost of the training effort could be shared by the committees benefiting from it.
7. The Annex summarises the results of a short survey into how the existing committees function. This may provide pointers for new committees in the immediate and longer term future after reorganisation.
Purpose of Child Protection Committees
8. The justification for co-ordinating machinery lies in the wide range of agencies involved in work which is concerned with protecting children from abuse. Cooperation and practice on individual cases of child abuse need to be sustained by joint agency procedures which are consistent with the policies and plans which each agency has for related service provision. The task of developing, promoting, monitoring and reviewing local child protection policies needs a joint forum. The Government see child protection committees continuing to have a major strategic role, building upon the achievements already made in inter-agency cooperation and allowing agencies to consider sharing resources to ensure their more effective and efficient use.
Functions
9. To be fully effective CPCs need to have a clearly recognised relationship to the responsible agencies. CPCs bring together the main agencies responsible for the provision of services for children and their families so that they can plan effectively for protection of children and encourage full collaboration to that end. Although they are essentially a confederation of individual agencies their functions allow them to exercise a collective and overarching influence on all the agencies concerned. These functions are to:
10. Each CPC should agree and work to written terms of reference. Since CPCs have opportunities to influence and contribute to individual agencies' practice and the development of skills and abilities of practitioners, each agency should have in place arrangements for receiving reports from committees, either direct or through its own representative(s) so that they can respond to and, if necessary, act upon issues raised by the CPC. Reports which have implications for policy, planning and resources need to be dealt with at the appropriate level within agencies.
Organisation
11. Following local government reorganisation a number of organisational models can be considered for CPCs, for example:
A. one committee per each new council area working independently;
B. as in model A but with individual committees formally co-operating with committees in adjoining areas by adopting common arrangements, for example inter-agency guidelines and training;
C. one committee per new council co-operating with adjoining area committees, as in model B, but also having a co-ordinating committee for certain functions;
D. one committee per health board area on which each new council within that area would be represented;
E. one committee per police area on which each new council within that area would be represented.
12. Model A is simple, with each local CPC operating on its own. Models B and C build on that by providing means of co-ordinating local CPCs for certain functions. Models D and E would embody combinations of local authority areas. The last four models could serve to bring about a greater degree of consistency over wider areas than would otherwise be the case. They would also facilitate sharing of experience and expertise. No hard and fast rules can, however, be laid down as to how committees should be organised and how they should co-operate with other committees. It will be up to individual agencies to agree arrangements best suited to their particular circumstances. Different models could exist in different parts of Scotland.
Budgetary Responsibilities
13. The Scottish Office has a significant role in encouraging and promoting an inter-agency approach to the protection of children. It produces and reviews central guidance and organises periodic meetings of CPC representatives to exchange information and views on latest developments. This complements the responsibilities of agencies for providing within their areas services which offer protection for children.
14. To ensure that their respective services are delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible, each agency should co-ordinate them with the services provided by other local agencies. The prime focus for achieving this co-ordination is the CPC. Its emphasis is essentially local, on helping in various ways to mobilise services for the protection of children. Its own expenditure - desirably brought together in a designated budget - is therefore a local matter, reflecting investment of the respective agencies in co-ordination which ultimately benefits each of them.
15. Contributions towards expenditure involved in maintaining and operating the CPC should be made primarily from the main service organisations represented, i.e. social work, police, health service and education. They should take account of contributions when preparing their respective forecast expenditure budgets. The CPC accounts to its constituent agencies for management of resources through accounts and annual reports.
Accountability
16 As essentially co-ordinating and advisory bodies, the committees are accountable for the discharge of their functions to the main organisations which constitute them. This is done routinely through annual reports, and on matters which may have implications for policy planning and allocation of resources, through ad-hoc reports to individual agencies and also by working with constituent agencies, at their request, on one-off tasks or assignments.
Authority
17. CPCs do not have any authority over individual agencies since these agencies have a range of statutory responsibilities and duties which cannot be superseded by others. CPCs can, however, develop an effective and influential role in inter-agency policy, practice procedures and training at both local and national level. This can be achieved through periodic meetings between CPCs, The Scottish Office and the Crown Office and through the circulation of CPCs' annual reports.
Representation
18. Core representation on CPCs is most likely to be drawn from the following:
Local Authorities (social work and education departments)
Police
Health Services
Reporters to the Children's Panel
Procurators Fiscal
The Armed Services (in areas where large service bases are located).
19. Committees may also wish to invite participation or representation by those with particular skills and/or experience which would assist the committee in the discharge of its functions. Such persons may participate on a regular basis or they may be invited ad hoc. Members of children's panels, academics and representatives of relevant voluntary organisations could be considered for such participation or membership. Legal advice may from time to time be required and committees may wish to invite a member of the legal profession to attend meetings where necessary.
20. If CPCs are to work well, those appointed to serve on them should be officials with relevant specialist knowledge and experience in their respective fields and they should be able to commit their agency to implement the recommendations and decisions of the committee. For this latter purpose, constituent agencies should determine the level of decision-making powers which may be delegated to representatives without referral back. Elected members may wish to be associated with the appointments of local authority officials to serve on committees.
21. Health Boards have public responsibility for the health input to CPCs but Boards will wish to discuss with NHS Trust Chief Executives how representation on CPCs within health board areas can best be achieved. The participation or membership of Trust personnel should be secured under the terms of the contract between the Board and the Trust(s).
22. Service on a CPC is a specific responsibility which should be recognised in the member's job description and workload so that he or she can attend CPC meetings on a regular basis and to participate in any sub-committees. The appointment of a substitute member to cover any unavoidable absence of the representative will ensure that all services are always represented at meetings.
23. Members should be appointed to CPCs for a term which is consistent with ensuring continuity of experience. There is no ideal period but frequent changes of membership inevitably inflict some discontinuity. Discontinuity is also likely to occur if the same term of appointment is fixed for all members of committee since they would all "retire" at the same time. CPCs need to bear these points in mind when fixing periods of membership.
Sub-Committees
24. Committees may decide that it is desirable to establish sub-committees to concentrate on particular aspects of the remit of the committee and to achieve continuity of planning and implementation. Sub-committees may be commissioned to carry out specific tasks such as:
25. These sub-committees may co-opt persons with relevant experience who are not members of the main committee. All such sub-committees will need a defined membership, aims and objectives and explicit lines of communication and accountability to the CPC. CPCs may also wish to set up sub-committees of specialist groups, e.g. health specialists. The same need to define purpose and lines of accountability of such sub-committees would apply.
Meetings
26. The frequency of meetings of the committee or any of its sub-committees is a matter to be determined by the committee (or sub-committee). Meetings should be arranged at times convenient to the maximum number of members.
Chair and Secretariat
27. Experience has shown that CPCs should be left to appoint their own Chairs. Appointees should possess knowledge and experience of child protection work in addition to chairing skills. The committee may appoint an independent person with the requisite knowledge, experience and chairing skills. There may be advantages in agreeing in advance the period of appointment of the Chair. A period of up to three years seems to be appropriate but local circumstances may determine a more appropriate period. Committees will also want to appoint a Vice-Chair to chair meetings in the absence of the Chair and they may wish to consider whether the person appointed should take over automatically when the Chair demits office.
28. The appointment of an administrative officer will help to maintain coherence and focus in the work of CPCs. Such support may be satisfactorily provided by one or more of the constituent agencies deputing the task to a member of staff, or the committee may wish to appoint some other person using committee resources. For small committees, however, the appointment of a dedicated administrative officer may not be justified. Such committees may wish to consider joint appointments with other committees.
Multi-Agency Training
29. Training is essential if human and other resources are to be used effectively and efficiently for the protection of children. It is a means of improving the knowledge, skills and judgement of staff. Effective child protection depends on well trained staff in all the agencies concerned.
30. The basic training of almost all of the professional groups who work in health, education, social work and the police now includes a focus on the identification of signs of child abuse and the measures necessary to ensure a child's legal protection. In addition there is a growing range of post-qualifying training opportunities which enable staff in all relevant professional groups - and others who work with children such as playgroup leaders and foster parents - which can enable them improve their knowledge and skills.
31. As well as developing professional skills and knowledge, training programmes run by individual agencies need to reinforce the message that in dealing with child abuse the staff of agencies must come together and work in a collaborative and co-operative way. Individual professionals not only require to have a competence in the discharge of their own responsibilities, they also need to be fully aware of the responsibilities of other agencies and other professionals. In-service training has a vital part to play in fostering that awareness. Agencies may invite staff from other agencies to attend or address their training courses. Reciprocal arrangements of this kind may also help to foster good relations between agencies. Whatever means are adopted, individual agency programmes should include training which will help staff- managers as well as practitioners - to work together with staff of other agencies in dealing with child abuse.
32. Multi-agency training is an essential component in building common understanding and fostering good working relationships which are vital to effective child protection. CPCs are well placed to play a central role in the development and delivery of such training which provides a significant influence on successful inter-disciplinary working on actual cases of abuse and in prevention and post-abuse programmes.
33. Some multi-agency training may involve all agencies represented on a CPC; some may involve particular agencies such as social work and the police. The aim of the CPC will be to develop training programmes which complement and build upon the work already done by individual agencies and which embrace identified multi-agency training needs among the staff of the agencies concerned. Committees may adopt different approaches to achieving that aim. Some may wish to appoint a training co-ordinator. For others, as with administrative support, the appointment of a dedicated training co-ordinator may not be justified but the possibility of a number of CPCs jointly appointing a co-ordinator may be considered. Committees may, alternatively, use a standing training committee to carry forward multi-agency training work. Whatever method or combination of methods is adopted, CPCs will want to ensure that they maintain an awareness of evolving and developing training needs and priorities.
34. Different approaches may also be adopted in relation to funding multi-agency training activities. Training co-ordinators may be "seconded" from one of the constituent agencies or they may be engaged by the CPC and paid out of committee resources. Similar arrangements may apply for training courses where individual agencies pay in accordance with the number of places taken; or alternatively, multi-agency training may be funded from the committee budget; or a mixture of both may be appropriate.
Reports from CPCs
35. Committees are accountable to their constituent agencies through annual reports and reports on specific issues. Each committee's annual report will review key areas of its work during the year by describing action taken to:
36. In addition, reports should include information about the number and types of child abuse cases as indicated by Child Protection Registers, indicating the age and gender of the registered children. Details of committee membership, indicating the specific organisation and job title, should be provided, as should information about the agreed funding arrangements. The reports should also be used to convey a planned programme of work for the coming year.
37. Copies of each annual report should be sent to Social Work Services Group so that the Secretary of State can be informed about current issues in child protection. Copies might also be made available to other CPCs to facilitate a wider exchange of useful ideas throughout Scotland.
Reports to CPCs
38. CPCs require to be informed regularly about the level of activity on child abuse work and about the type of abuse and any identifiable trends. Local authorities can derive information for this purpose from Child Protection Registers and the standard Child Protection Management Information System. Other agencies, for example, the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, may also have relevant information which will be helpful to CPCs. Those providing information should make their reports using aggregated statistics so as to preserve the anonymity of a particular individual or individuals.
Enquiries about this Circular should be addressed to
Mr John Rafferty,
Social Work Services Group,
Room 43,
James Craig Walk,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3BA (telephone 0131 244 5484).1
Yours sincerely
J W SINCLAIR
1To holders of the SWSG Circulars and Guidance: This Circular should be placed in Section E3 of the volume containing "E, Children and Families (Sections 1-5)"circulars.
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