{"id":8118,"date":"2025-04-10T14:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T14:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/8118\/"},"modified":"2025-04-10T14:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T14:13:11","slug":"national-child-protection-agency-to-provide-oversight-of-practice-in-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/8118\/","title":{"rendered":"National child protection agency to provide oversight of practice in England"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jess<\/p>\n

Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls (credit: Home Office)<\/p>\n

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\nThe government will create a national agency to provide oversight of child protection practice in England, the safeguarding minister has revealed.<\/p>\n

The Child Protection Authority (CPA) will provide \u201cnational leadership and learning on child protection and safeguarding\u201d, with work to establish it beginning this year, Jess Phillips told the House of Commons this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Creating a CPA in each of England and Wales was one of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse\u2019s (IICSA) final report, published in 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

Inquiry\u2019s proposal for Child Protection Authority<\/strong><\/p>\n

IICSA said these should be independent statutory bodies that would be repositories of expertise on child protection and tasked with improving practice, advising governments on policy and, where necessary, inspecting institutions.<\/p>\n

The inquiry said they would fill gaps in current arrangements by inspecting non-statutory or unregulated organisations where children spend time and multi-agency child protection arrangements.<\/p>\n

However, the then Conservative government rejected the proposal \u2013 in relation to England \u2013 in 2023<\/a>, on the grounds that many of its proposed functions were already being carried out by existing bodies. These included the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (\u201cthe national panel\u201d)<\/a>, which reviews learning from serious child protection cases.<\/p>\n

The Welsh Government has said that the country\u2019s existing National Independent Safeguarding Board fulfilled IICSA\u2019s proposed remit for a CPA.<\/a><\/p>\n

Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel remit to be expanded<\/strong><\/p>\n

In her statement to the Commons, Phillips said the CPA would initially be set up within the national panel, with work starting immediately to expand the panel\u2019s role.<\/p>\n

This would involve giving the panel \u201cthe resources it needs to increase its analytical capacity and its capability to develop high-quality material for practitioners\u201d, said an accompanying Home Office report on the government\u2019s approach to IICSA\u2019s recommendations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Later this year, the government will consult on the make-up and remit of the CPA, including any aspects that would require legislation. The Home Office report did not commit itself to retaining the CPA within the national panel in future or setting it up as a separate body, meaning this may be consulted upon.<\/p>\n

Phillips told the Commons that the consultation would \u201ctake time\u201d and not involve \u201cupending an entire system\u201d.<\/p>\n

Authority \u2018must help make difference to children\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The panel welcomed the plan for it to \u201chelp create the foundations for a new Child Protection Authority across England\u201d and said it was committed to working closely with the government on this.<\/p>\n

Its chair, Annie Hudson, said: \u201cThe panel\u2019s oversight and work to support learning from serious incidents where children have died or been seriously harmed, inside and outside their families, provides important insight about how children can be better safeguarded and protected from all forms of abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important that the powers and remit of a new Child Protection Authority will help make a difference to children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to working closely with government and other stakeholders as plans develop and the detailed roadmap is progressed,\u201d she added. \u201cIt is vital that all those who work with children participate in the forthcoming consultation so together we develop a child protection system that keeps children\u2019s needs at the heart of all decision making.\u201d<\/p>\n

No inspection function for Child Protection Authority<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the department said that IICSA\u2019s recommendations would be \u201ccore to the development of the consultation\u201d, it ruled out giving the CPA any role in inspection.<\/p>\n

This was to ensure that agencies were \u201ctransparent about failings\u201d with the CPA to enable it to \u201cprovide expert advice on how to improve and change\u201d, an approach that could be impeded by giving it inspection powers.<\/p>\n

The Home Office also highlighted findings from IICSA and other organisations that inspectorates had \u201cfailed to identify abuse taking place in institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n

Joint inspection on CSA within families<\/strong><\/p>\n

In relation to inspection, it said it Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the police and probation inspectorates would carry out a joint targeted area inspection (JTAI) of agencies\u2019 response to child sexual abuse in family settings in autumn 2025.<\/p>\n

The Home Office also pledged to create a cross-government working group to look at improving single and joint inspection of child protection and post-inspection accountability arrangements, to ensure areas acted on recommendations.<\/p>\n

IICSA also recommended that the government appoint a cabinet-level minister for children to provide a sharper focus across government on
issues affecting them.<\/p>\n

The Home Office said the government would not be implementing this specific recommendation, with the education secretary \u2013 currently, Bridget Phillipson \u2013 remaining the cabinet minister responsible for children\u2019s issues.<\/p>\n

Cross-government child protection board<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, it said that a \u201ckeeping children safe\u201d ministerial board, including all ministers with roles affecting children, would be set up to support cross-government working on safeguarding. Its role would include:<\/p>\n

Plan for mandatory reporting of CSA<\/strong><\/p>\n

The government has already pledged to implement one of IICSA\u2019s key recommendations, the introduction of mandatory reporting of CSA by those in position of trust over children where they have received a disclosure of, or witnessed, abuse.<\/p>\n

This will be introduced through the Crime and Policing Bill. However, the government has departed from the inquiry\u2019s recommendations in two key respects<\/a>:<\/p>\n