Children and Social Work Bill — New Clause 14 — Reporting Capacity to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children — 7 Mar 2017 at 14:58

The majority of MPs voted not to require an annual report to Parliament on the capacity of local areas to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including unaccompanied refugee children.

MPs were considering the Children and Social Work Bill^[1].

The proposed new clause rejected in this vote was:

• After section 16E of the Children Act 2004 (inserted by section 16 of this Act) insert—
• “Local arrangements for reporting on capacity to provide children’s safeguarding and welfare provision services
• ‘(1) At least once in every 12 month period, the safeguarding partners for a local authority area in England must report to the Secretary of State on their capacity to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
• (2) The report must include, but shall not be restricted to, identification of capacity to provide safeguarding and welfare services to children who could be resettled in the area, including unaccompanied refugee children who could be transferred to the area from abroad including those with existing or current applications for transfer.
• (3) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament the information received under subsection (1) in a single report.””

The rejected new clause was accompanied by the following explanatory note:

• This new clause would require the local safeguarding partners in an area to report annually to the Secretary of State on what capacity they have to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in that area. This includes what capacity they have to resettle children, including unaccompanied refugee children, in the area. The Secretary of State would be required to lay before Parliament the information received from local authorities in a single report

==

• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Children and Social Work Bill

Debate in Parliament |