BSCB Roles and Responsibilities

Working Together to Safeguard Children, a guide to promote inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, sets out the roles and responsibilites of each local authority Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) as:

3.1 Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children requires effective coordination
in every local area. For this reason, the Children Act 2004 requires
each Local Authority to establish a Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).
3.2 The LSCB is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant
organisations in each local area will co-operate to safeguard and promote the
welfare of children in that locality, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they
do. 

LSCB Role

The LSCBs relationship with wider arrangements to improve outcomes for
children

3.3 The work of LSCBs is part of the wider context of childrens trust
arrangements that aim to improve the overall wellbeing (i.e. the five Every Child
Matters outcomes) of all children in the local area.
3.4 Whilst the work of LSCBs contributes to the wider goals of improving the
wellbeing of all children, it has a particular focus on aspects of the staying safe
outcome.

To co-ordinate local work to safeguard and promote welfare of children
To ensure the effectiveness of that work
Developing policies and procedures for safeguarding
and promoting the welfare of children, including on:
- action where there are concerns, including thresholds
- training of persons who work with children
- recruitment and supervision
- investigation of allegations
- privately fostered children
- co-operation with neighbouring authorities
Participating in the planning of services for
children in the area of the local authority
Communicating the need to safeguard and
promote the welfare of children
Monitoring effectiveness of
what is done to safeguard and
promote the welfare of children
Undertaking Serious Case
Reviews
Collecting and analysing
information about child
deaths
Evaluating
effectiveness
and advising on
ways to
improve
Procedures to ensure a co-ordinated response to
unexpected child deaths
3.5 Whereas the childrens trust has a wider role in planning and delivery of
services, LSCB objectives are about co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness
of what their member organisations do individually and together. They will
contribute to delivery and commissioning through the Children and Young
Peoples Plan and the childrens trust arrangements.
3.6 There is flexibility for a local area to decide that an LSCB should have an
extended role or further functions in addition to those set out in this chapter.
Those must of course still be related to its objectives. The decision should be
taken as part of the scope of the wider childrens trust. However, the Local
Authority and its partners should make sure that any extended role does not
lessen the LSCBs ability to perform its core role effectively.
Objectives

3.7 The core objectives of the LSCB are set out in section 14(1) of the
Children Act 2004 as follows:
a) to co-ordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the

 Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
children in the area of the authority; and,

b) to ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or
body for that purpose.

3.8 As explained in chapter 1, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
" protecting children from maltreatment;
" preventing impairment of childrens health or development;
" ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the
provision of safe and effective care; and
" undertaking that role so as to enable those children to have optimum life
chances and enter adulthood successfully.
3.9 The LSCB will therefore ensure that the duty to safeguard and promote
the welfare of children is carried out in such a way as to improve all five
outcomes which are of importance to children.
3.10 Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children includes protecting
children from harm. Ensuring that work to protect children is properly coordinated
and effective remains a key goal of LSCBs and they should not focus
on their wider role if the standard of this core business is inadequate. However,
when this core business is secure, LSCBs should go beyond it to work to their
wider remit, which includes preventative work to avoid harm being suffered in the
first place.
Scope of the role

3.11 The scope of LSCBs role includes safeguarding and promoting the
welfare of children in three broad areas of activity.
3.12 First, activity that affects all children and aims to identify and prevent
maltreatment, or impairment of health or development, and ensure children are
growing up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care. For
example:
" mechanisms to identify abuse and neglect wherever they may occur;
" work to increase understanding of safeguarding children issues in the
professional and wider community, promoting the message that
safeguarding is everybodys responsibility;
" work to ensure that organisations working or in contact with children,
operate recruitment and human resources practices that take account of the
need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
" monitoring the effectiveness of organisations implementation of their duties
under section 11 of the Children Act 2004;
" ensuring children know who they can contact when they have concerns
about their own or others safety and welfare;
" ensuring that adults (including those who are harming children) know who
they can contact if they have a concern about a child or young person.
3.13 Second, proactive work that aims to target particular groups. For example:
" developing / evaluating thresholds and procedures for work with children
and families where a child has been identified as in need under the
Children Act 1989, but where the child is not suffering or at risk of suffering
significant harm;
" work to safeguard and promote the welfare of groups of children who are
potentially more vulnerable than the general population, for example
children living away from home, children who have run away from home,
children in custody, or disabled children.
3.14 Thirdly, responsive work to protect children who are suffering, or at risk of
suffering harm, including:
" children abused and neglected within families, including those harmed:
o in the context of domestic violence
o as a consequence of the impact of substance misuse;
" children abused outside families by adults known to them;
" children abused and neglected by professional carers, within institutional
settings, or anywhere else where children are cared for away from home;
" children abused by strangers;
" children abused by other young people;
" young perpetrators of abuse; and
" children abused through prostitution.

3.15 Where particular children are the subject of interventions then that
safeguarding work should aim to help them to achieve all five outcomes, to have
optimum life chances. It is within the remit of LSCBs to check the extent to which
this has been achieved as part of their monitoring and evaluation work.
Accountability for operational work

3.16 Whilst the LSCB has a role in co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness
of local individuals and organisations work to safeguard and promote the welfare
of children, it is not accountable for their operational work. Each Board partner
retains their own existing lines of accountability for safeguarding and promoting
the welfare of children by their services. The LSCB does not have a power to
direct other organisations.
LSCB Functions

3.17 The core functions of an LSCB are set out in regulations20. This guidance
gives further detail on what is required as well as examples of how the functions
can be carried out. In all their activities, LSCBs should take account of the need
to promote equality of opportunity and to meet the diverse needs of children.
Policies and procedures function

3.18 This general function has a number of specific applications set out in
regulations.
a) Developing policies and procedures for safeguarding and promoting
the welfare of children in the area of the authority, including policies and
procedures in relation to:

(i) The action to be taken where there are concerns about a childs
safety or welfare, including thresholds for intervention
3.19 This includes concerns under both s17 and s47 of the Children Act 1989.
It may mean for example:
" setting out thresholds for referrals to childrens social care of children who
may be in need, and processes for robust multi-agency assessment of
children in need.
" agreeing inter-agency procedures for s47 enquiries and developing local
protocols on key issues of concern such as children abused through
prostitution; children living with domestic violence, substance abuse, or
20 The Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006, Statutory Instrument no. 2006/90.

parental mental illness; female genital mutilation; forced marriage; children
missing from school; children who may have been trafficked and
safeguarding looked after children who are away from home.
" setting out how s47 enquiries and associated police investigations should
be conducted, and in particular, in what circumstances joint enquiries are
necessary and/or appropriate.
3.20 Chapter 5 includes some further key points on which LSCBs should

ensure that they have policies and procedures in place.

3.21 Clear thresholds and processes and a common understanding of them
across local partners may help to reduce the number of inappropriate referrals
and to improve the effectiveness of joint work, leading to a more efficient use of
resources.
(ii) Training of persons who work with children or in services affecting
the safety and welfare of children
3.22 It is the responsibility of the LSCB to ensure that single agency and interagency
training on safeguarding and promoting welfare is provided in order to
meet local needs. This covers both the training provided by single agencies to
their own staff, and multi-agency training where staff from more than one agency
train together.
3.23 LSCBs may wish to carry out their function by taking a view as to the
priorities for inter-agency and single-agency child protection training in the local
area and feeding those priorities into the local Workforce Strategy. LSCBs will
also wish to evaluate the quality of this training, ensuring that relevant training is
provided by individual organisations, and checking that the training is reaching
the relevant staff within organisations.
3.24 In some areas it may be decided that the LSCB should also organise or
deliver inter-agency training. As explained in Chapter 4, this is not part of the
core requirement for LSCBs.
(iii) Recruitment and supervision of persons who work with children
3.25 For example by establishing effective policies and procedures, based on
national guidance, for checking the suitability of people applying for work with
children and ensuring that the childrens workforce is properly supervised, with
any concerns acted on appropriately.
(iv) Investigation of allegations concerning persons working with
children
3.26 For example policies and procedures, based on national guidance (see
paragraphs 6.20 to 6.30 and Appendix 5), to ensure that allegations are dealt
with properly and quickly.

(v) Safety and welfare of children who are privately fostered
3.27 For example, by ensuring the co-ordination and effective implementation
of measures designed to strengthen private fostering notification arrangements.
These measures were amendments to the Children Act 1989 made by section 44
of the Children Act 2004, the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering)
Regulations 2005, and National Minimum Standards (NMS) for private
fostering, which came into effect in July 2005. LSCBs may also want to consider
how they raise awareness in the community of the requirements and issues
around private fostering.
(vi) Co-operation with neighbouring childrens services authorities (i.e.
Local Authorities) and their Board partners
3.28 For example, by establishing procedures to safeguard and promote the
welfare of children who move between Local Authority areas, in line with the
requirements in Chapters 5 and 7. This might include harmonising procedures,
where appropriate, to bring coherence to liaison with an organisation (such as a
police force) which spans more than one LSCB area. This could be relevant to
geographically mobile families such as: asylum seeking children; traveller
children; children in migrant families; and children of families in temporary
accommodation.
Other policies and procedures

3.29 LSCBs should consider the need for other local protocols under this
function, beyond those specifically set out in regulations, including:
" quick and straightforward means of resolving professional differences of
view in a specific case, for example, on whether a child protection
conference should be convened:
" attendance at child protection conferences, including quora;
" attendance at family group conferences;
" involving children and family members in child protection conferences, the
role of advocates, criteria for excluding parents in exceptional
circumstances;
" a decision-making process for the need for a child protection plan based
upon the views of the agencies present at the child protection conference;
and
" handling complaints from families about the functioning of child protection
conferences.
Communicating and raising awareness function

b) Communicating to persons and bodies in the area of the authority
the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, raising their
awareness of how this can best be done, and encouraging them to do so

3.30 For example, by contributing to a public campaign to raise awareness in
the wider community, including faith and minority communities, and among
statutory and independent agencies, including employers, about how everybody
can contribute to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. By listening
to and consulting children and young people and ensuring that their views and
opinions are taken into account in planning and delivering safeguarding and
promoting welfare services.
Monitoring and evaluation function

c) Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of what is done by the Local
Authority and board partners individually and collectively to safeguard and
promote the welfare of children and advise them on ways to improve

3.31 The LSCB has a key role in achieving high standards in safeguarding and
promoting welfare, not just through co-ordinating but by evaluation and
continuous improvement.
3.32 For example, by asking individual organisations to self evaluate under an
agreed framework of benchmarks or indicators and then sharing results with the
Board. It might also involve leading multi-agency arrangements to contribute to
self evaluation reports.
3.33 To evaluate multi-agency working they could perform joint audits of case
files, looking at the involvement of the different agencies, and identifying the
quality of practice and lessons to be learned in terms of both multi-agency and
multi-disciplinary practice.
3.34 The LSCB should have a particular focus on ensuring that those key
people and organisations that have a duty under section 11 of the Children Act
2004 or section 175 or 157 of the Education Act 2002 are fulfilling their statutory
obligations about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
3.35 The function also includes advising the Local Authority and Board partners
on ways to improve. The LSCB might do this by making recommendations (such
as the need for further resources), by helping organisations to develop new
procedures, by spreading best practice, by bringing together expertise in different
bodies, or by supporting capacity building and training. Where there are concerns
about the work of partners and these cannot be addressed locally, the LSCB
should raise these concerns with others, as explained further in paragraph 3.86
below.

Function of participating in planning and commissioning

d) Participating in the local planning and commissioning of childrens
services to ensure that they take safeguarding and promoting the welfare
of children into account

3.36 For example, by contributing to the Children and Young Peoples Plan,
and ensuring in discussion with the childrens trust partnership that all planning
and commissioning of services for children within the Local Authority area takes
account of the need to safeguard and promote childrens welfare.
3.37 Where it is agreed locally that the LSCB is the responsible authority for
matters relating to the protection of children from harm under the Licensing Act
2003, it must be notified of all licence variations and new applications for the sale
and supply of alcohol and public entertainment.
Functions relating to child deaths

3.38 From 1 April 2008 each LSCB will have the functions set out in regulations
relating to child deaths. They become compulsory on LSCBs by that date, but
can be carried out by any LSCB from 1 April 2006.
e) Collecting and analysing information about the deaths of all children
in their area with a view to identifying:

i) any matters of concern affecting the safety and welfare of children in
the area of the authority, including any case giving rise to the need for a
serious case review;

ii) any general public health or safety concerns arising from deaths of
children.

f) Putting in place procedures for ensuring that there is a co-ordinated
response by the authority, their Board partners and other relevant persons
to an unexpected death of a child.

3.39 Chapter 7 explains how these functions should be implemented.
Serious case review function

e) Undertaking reviews of cases where abuse or neglect of a child is

known or suspected and either a child has died; or a child has been
seriously harmed and there is cause for concern as to the way in which the
authority, their Board partners or other relevant persons have worked
together to safeguard the child

3.40 By developing procedures and the detail of organisations and individuals
roles in accordance with Chapter 8, and ensuring that organisations undertake
those roles. All relevant staff should be aware of when Serious Case Reviews
are required or should be considered.
3.41 By defining terms of reference, commissioning organisational and
management reviews and an independent person to compile the overview report,
receiving and endorsing the report, agreeing recommendations and an action
plan, ensuring the action plan is carried out and that learning is disseminated,
lessons acted on and local policy and practice improved.
Other activities

3.42 The regulations make clear that in addition to the functions set out above:
An LSCB may also engage in any other activity that facilitates, or is
conducive to, the achievement of its objective.

3.43 These further activities should be discussed and agreed as part of wider
childrens trust planning.
3.44 For example, the LSCB could agree to take the lead within a childrens
trust on work to tackle bullying, or could lead an initiative on domestic violence.
3.45 The LSCB will not in general be an operational body or one which delivers
services to children, young people and their families. Its role is co-ordinating and
ensuring the effectiveness of what its member organisations do, and contributing
to broader planning, commissioning and delivery. It may however take on
operational and delivery roles under this part of the regulations.
LSCB Governance and Operational Arrangements

3.46 County level and unitary local authorities are responsible for establishing
an LSCB in their area and ensuring that it is run effectively.
3.47 An LSCB can cover more than one Local Authority area. Local Authorities
and their partners will wish to consider whether this is desirable, perhaps to
ensure a better fit with the areas covered by other bodies, or because issues are
common to different areas.

Independence

3.48 It is important that, whilst operating in the context of the childrens trust
and developing a strong working relationship with the wider strategic partnerships
within a local authority area, LSCBs exercise their unique statutory role
effectively. They must be able to form a view of the quality of local activity, to
challenge organisations as necessary, and to speak with an independent voice.
To ensure that this is possible LSCBs must have a clear and distinct identity
within local childrens trust governance arrangements. They should not be an
operational sub-committee of the childrens trust board.
Chair

3.49 It is the responsibility of the Local Authority, after consultation with the
Board partners, to appoint the chair. The chair may be a local authority
employee, such as the Director of Childrens Services (DCS) or the Local
Authority Chief Executive, a senior employee of one of the Board partners, or
another person contracted with or employed specifically to fulfil this role. Where
the chair is not a senior person from the Local Authority, such as the DCS or
Chief Executive, they will be accountable to the Local Authority, via the DCS, for
the effectiveness of their work as LSCB chair. The Chair should not be an
Elected Member  for more detail on the role of Elected Members, see
paragraphs 3.56  3.57 below.
3.50 The chair will have a crucial role in making certain that the board operates
effectively and secures an independent voice for the LSCB. He or she should be
of sufficient standing and expertise to command the respect and support of all
partners. The chair should act objectively and distinguish their role as LSCB chair
from any day to day role, for example, as an employee of the Local Authority.
Relationship between the LSCB and the childrens trust

3.51 The LSCB and its activities are part of the wider context of childrens trust
arrangements. The work of LSCBs contributes to the wider goals of improving
the wellbeing of all children. Within the wider governance arrangements its role
is to ensure the effectiveness of the arrangements made by individual agencies
and the wider partnership to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
3.52 The LSCB should not be subordinate to or subsumed within the childrens
trust arrangements in a way that might compromise its separate identity and
independent voice. The LSCB should expect to be consulted by the partnership
on issues which affect how children are safeguarded and their welfare promoted.
The LSCB is a formal consultee during the development of the Children and
Young Peoples Plan.
3.53 The LSCB and the wider childrens trust arrangements need to establish
and maintain an ongoing and direct relationship, communicating regularly. They
need to ensure action taken by one body does not duplicate that taken by
another and work together to ensure there are no unhelpful strategic or
operational gaps in policies, protocols, services or practice.

Membership

The nature of members

3.54 As far as possible, organisations should designate particular, named
people as their LSCB member, so that there is consistency and continuity in the
membership of the LSCB.
3.55 Members will need to be people with a strategic role in relation to
safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children within their organisation.
They should be able to:
" speak for their organisation with authority
" commit their organisation on policy and practice matters
" hold their organisation to account.
Role of Elected Members

3.56 Local Authority Elected Members and non-executive directors of other
board partners should not be members of a LSCB. Their role, through their
membership of governance bodies such as the cabinet of the local authority or a
scrutiny committee or a governance board, is to hold their organisation and its
officers to account for their contribution to the effective functioning of the LSCB.
3.57 The Lead Member for Childrens Services within the Local Authority will
have a particular focus on how the Local Authority is fulfilling its responsibilities to
safeguard and promote the welfare of children and will hold the DCS to account
for the work of the LSCB.
Statutory Members

3.58 The LSCB should include representatives of the Local Authority and its
Board partners, the statutory organisations which are required to co-operate with
the local authority in the establishment and operation of the board and have
shared responsibility for the effective discharge of its functions. These are the
Board partners set out in section 13(3) of the Children Act (2004):
" District Councils in local government areas which have them;
" the Chief Officer of Police for a police area any part of which falls within
the area of the local authority;
" the Local Probation Board for an area any part of which falls within the
area of the local authority;
" the Youth Offending Team for an area any part of which falls within the
area of the local authority;
" Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts for an area any part
of which falls within the area of the local authority;
" NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts all or most of whose hospitals or
establishments and facilities are situated in the local authority area;
" the Connexions Service providing services in any part of the area of the
local authority;
" CAFCASS (Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service);
" the governor or director of any Secure Training Centre in the area of the
local authority; and
" the governor or director of any prison in the local authority area which
ordinarily detains children.
3.59 The Local Authority should ensure that those responsible for adult social
services functions are represented on the LSCB, because of the importance of
adult social care in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Similarly
health organisations should ensure that adult health services and in particular
adult mental health and adult disability services are represented on the LSCB.
3.60 It will also be important to ensure that the LSCB has access to appropriate
expertise and advice from all the relevant sectors, including a designated doctor
and nurse.
3.61 The Children Act 2004 says that the Local Authority and its partners must
co-operate in the establishment and operation of an LSCB. This places an
obligation on Local Authorities and statutory LSCB partners to support the
operation of the LSCB.
Other Members

3.62 The Local Authority should also secure the involvement of other relevant
local organisations and the NSPCC where a representative is made available.
The knowledge and experience of the NSPCC is an important national resource
on which LSCBs will want to draw. At a minimum local organisations should
include faith groups, state and independent schools, Further Education Colleges
including 6th Form Colleges, childrens centres, GPs, independent healthcare
organisations, and voluntary and community sector organisations including
bodies providing specialist care to children with severe disabilities and complex
health needs. In areas where they have significant local activity, the armed forces
(in relation both to the families of service men and women and those personnel
that are under the age of 18), the Immigration Service, and National Asylum
Support Service should also be included. Where the number or size of similar
organisations precludes individual representation on the LSCB, for example in
the case of schools or voluntary youth bodies, the LA should seek to involve
them via existing networks or forums, or by encouraging and developing suitable
networks or forums to facilitate communication between organisations and with
the LSCB.

Involvement of other agencies and groups

3.63 The LSCB should make appropriate arrangements at a strategic
management level to involve others in its work as needed. For example, there
may be some organisations or individuals which are in theory represented by the
statutory board partners but which need to be engaged because of their
particular role in service provision to children and families or role in public
protection. There will be other organisations which the LSCB needs to link to,
either through inviting them to join the LSCB, or through some other mechanism.
For example:
" the coronial service;
" dental health services;
" Domestic Violence Forums;
" drug and alcohol misuse services;
" Drug Action Teams
" housing, culture and leisure services;
" housing providers;
" Local Authority legal services;
" local MAPPA;
" local sports bodies and services;
" local Family Justice Council;
" Local Criminal Justice Board;
" other health providers such as pharmacists;

" representatives of service users;
" sexual health services.
" the Crown Prosecution Service;
" witness support services.
3.64 LSCBs will also need to draw on the work of key national organisations
and liase with them when necessary, for example, the new Child Exploitation and
On-Line Protection Centre.
The Role of Members

3.65 The individual members of LSCBs have a duty as members to contribute
to the effective work of the LSCB, for example, in making the LSCBs
assessment of performance as objective as possible, and in recommending or
deciding upon the necessary steps to put right any problems. This should take
precedence, if necessary, over their role as a representative of their organisation.
Members of each LSCB should have a clear written statement of their roles and
responsibilities.
Ways of Working

3.66 The working practices of LSCB members need to be considered locally
with a view to securing effective operation of LSCB functions and ensuring that
all member organisations are effectively engaged.
3.67 Where there are multiple organisations of a particular kind in the Local
Authority area, for example NHS Trusts or District Councils, they may decide to
share attendance at meetings. Organisations pooling representation in this way
need to agree how they will be consulted and how their views will be fed in to
Board discussions.
3.68 It may be appropriate for the LSCB to set up working groups or subgroups,
on a short-term or a standing basis to:
" carry out specific tasks, for example: maintaining and updating procedures
and protocols; reviewing serious cases; and identifying inter-agency
training needs;
" provide specialist advice, for example: in respect of working with specific
ethnic and cultural groups, or with disabled children and/or parents;
" bring together representatives of a sector to discuss relevant issues and to
provide a contribution from that sector to LSCB work, for example:
schools, the voluntary and community sector, faith groups; and,
" focus on defined geographical areas within the LSCBs boundaries.
3.69 It is possible to form a core group or executive group of LSCB members
to carry out some of the day-to-day business by local agreement.
3.70 When LSCBs begin to operate the new child death review processes set
out in chapter 7, they will need to set up a Child Death Overview Panel which has
a standing membership and whose Chair is a member of the LSCB. This panel
can be set up by two or more LSCBs to cover their combined area.
3.71 All groups working under the LSCB should be established by the LSCB,
and should work to agreed terms of reference, with explicit lines of reporting,
communication and accountability to the LSCB. This may take the form of a
written constitution detailing a job description for all members and service level
agreements between the LSCB, agencies and other partnerships. Chairs of sub
groups should be LSCB members.
3.72 Where boundaries between LSCBs and their partner organisations such
as the health service and the police are not co-terminous, there can be problems
for some member organisations in having to work to different procedures and
protocols according to the area involved, or having to participate in several
LSCBs. It may be helpful in these circumstances for adjoining LSCBs to
collaborate as far as possible on establishing common policies and procedures,
and joint ways of working, under the function around Co-operation with
neighbouring childrens services authorities and their Board partners.
3.73 LSCBs should consider how to put in place arrangements to ascertain
views of parents and carers and the wishes and feelings of children (including
children who might not ordinarily be heard) about the priorities and the
effectiveness of local safeguarding work, including issues of access to services
and contact points for children to safeguard and promote welfare. LSCBs should
also consider how children, parents and carers can be given a measure of choice
and control in the development of services.
Financing and Staffing

3.74 To function effectively LSCBs need to be supported by their member
organisations with adequate and reliable resource.
3.75 Section 15 of the Children Act 2004 sets out that statutory Board partners
(or in the case of prisons, either the Secretary of State or the contractor) may:
" make payments towards expenditure incurred by, or for purposes
connected with, an LSCB, either directly, or by contributing to a fund out of
which payments may be made;
" provide staff, goods, services, accommodation or other resources for
purposes connected with an LSCB.
3.76 The budget for each LSCB and the contribution made by each member
organisation should be agreed locally. The member organisations shared
responsibility for the discharge of the LSCBs functions includes shared
responsibility for determining how the necessary resources are to be provided to
support it.
3.77 The core contributions should be provided by the responsible Local
Authority, the Primary Care Trusts, and the police. Other organisations
contributions will vary to reflect their resources and local circumstances. For
some, taking part in LSCB work may be the appropriate extent of their
contribution. Other organisations may wish to contribute by committing resources
in kind, rather than funds, as provided for in the legislation.
3.78 Where an LSCB member organisation provides funding, this should be
committed in advance, usually into a pooled budget.
3.79 The board may choose to use some of its funding to support the
participation of some organisations, such as local voluntary or community sector
groups, for example, if they cannot otherwise afford to take part.
3.80 The funding requirement of the LSCB will depend on its circumstances
and the work which it plans to undertake (which will in turn depend on the division
of responsibilities between the LSCB and other parts of the wider childrens
trust). However, each LSCB will have a core minimum of work.
3.81 The LSCBs resources will need to enable it to have staff to take forward
its business, whether those are paid for from a common fund, or seconded as
part of a contribution in kind. The particular staffing of each LSCB should be
agreed locally by the Board partners. An effective LSCB needs to be staffed so
that it has the capacity to:
" drive forward the LSCBs day to day business in achieving its objectives,
including its co-ordination and monitoring / evaluating work;
" take forward any training and staff development work carried out by the
LSCB, in the context of the local workforce strategy;
" provide administrative and organisational support for the Board and its
sub-committees, and those involved in policy and training.
Planning

3.82 On the basis of a new statutory duty, and building on best local planning
practice, the Governments intends that all local areas should produce a single,
strategic, overarching plan for all services affecting children and young people.
The Children and Young Peoples Plan (CYPP) and the process of joint planning
should support local authorities and their partners as they work together, with the
local authority taking the lead, to agree clear targets and priorities for all services
to children and young people. It will also identify the actions and activities needed
to achieve the targets and priorities and ensure delivery. Guidance on the CYPP
was published in July 2005.

3.83 On the basis of the CYPP, childrens trusts will develop joint
commissioning arrangements. These will be based on assessment of local
needs; agreeing priorities, planning provision and identifying the resources
available across the partner agencies and the contribution each will make.
LSCBs should contribute to, and work within, the framework established by the
CYPP.
3.84 LSCBs work needs to be properly planned. The LSCBs own activities
would ordinarily be part of the overall CYPP. If not, LSCB planning should
nevertheless fit clearly within the framework of priorities and action set out in the
CYPP, or if there is no CYPP, within the authoritys strategic planning framework.
The LSCB should have a clear work programme, including measurable
objectives; and a budget. It should include in any plan or annual report relevant
management information on activity in the course of the previous year; and a
review of its work in the previous year, for example, progress against objectives.
This will enable the LSCBs work to be scrutinised by the Local Authority
(perhaps by the overview and scrutiny committees), by other local partners, and
by other key stakeholders as well as by the inspectorates. Local authorities and
their partners may wish to take an overview of LSCB work jointly as part of the
childrens trust governance arrangements. It is recommended that any LSCB
plan or report is endorsed by all the Board members and made publicly available.
Monitoring and Inspection

3.85 The LSCBs work to ensure the effectiveness of work to safeguard and
promote the welfare of children by member organisations will be a peer review
process based on self evaluation, performance indicators, and joint audit. Its aim
is to promote high standards of safeguarding work and to foster a culture of
continuous improvement. It will also identify and act on identified weaknesses in
services. To avoid unnecessary duplication of work the LSCB should ensure that
its monitoring role complements and contributes to the work of both the childrens
trust and the inspectorates.
3.86 Where it is found that a Board partner is not performing effectively in
safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and the LSCB is not
convinced that any planned action to improve performance will be adequate, the
LSCB chair or a member or employee designated by the chair should explain
these concerns to those individuals and organisations that need to be aware of
the failing and may be able to take action. For example, to the most senior
individual(s) in the partner organisation, to the relevant inspectorate, and, if
necessary, to the relevant Government Department.

3.87 The local inspection framework will play an important role in reinforcing the
ongoing monitoring work of the LSCB. A joint area review of childrens services
(JAR) will take place in each local authority area between 2005 and December
2008. JARs assess how childrens services, taken together, contribute to
improving outcomes for children and young people.
3.88 Individual services will be assessed through their own quality regimes.
Annual performance assessment of council childrens services (APA), by Ofsted
and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), looks at the contribution
of local authorities to outcomes for children, with an overall judgement supported
by separate judgements on social care services for children and on education
services. It draws on performance information, inspection evidence, other
documents and self assessment. These inspectorates in their other work, plus
other inspectorates such as the Healthcare Commission, and Her Majestys
Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons, and Probation, will have as part of their
remit considering the effectiveness of their agencies role in safeguarding and
promoting the welfare of children. The LSCB should draw on their work.
3.89 The LSCB will be able to feed its views about the quality of work to
safeguard and promote the welfare of children into these processes.
3.90 The effectiveness of the LSCB itself should also form part of the
judgement of the Inspectorates, particularly through the JAR. This may be done,
for example, by examining the quality of the LSCBs planning and determining
whether key objectives have been met. It will be for the Local Authority to lead in
taking action, if intervention in the LSCBs own processes is necessary.

This page was last updated on the 12th of January 2012 and is scheduled for review on or before the 8th of July 2012