Report on Every Child Matters

Report: 8
Date: 16 January 2007
By: Chief Executive and Clerk

Summary

This report outlines the duties laid out to Police Authorities in the Children Act 2004 and recent APA national guidance, which has been produced to assist Police Authorities to meet legislative requirements by 2008 set out in Every Child Matters. The APA guidance has been developed in close collaboration with the PPRC Chair, ACPO and MPA Officers during sessions at the Children and Youth Issues Group.

A. Recommendation

That

1. the Planning and Performance Committee consider the template for oversight of Police Force Policy and agree a committee timetable for 2007/08;
2. the full Authority and Planning and Performance Committee Members agree to a cross business approach to the implementation of Every Child Matters overseen by the PPRC Chair in close collaboration with the EODB committee;
3. the full Authority agrees to the proposed APA guidelines; and
4. a review of its youth policy and strategy, which is to report back to Full Authority with recommendations in April 2007.

B. Supporting information

1. Following the Victoria Climbié Inquiry the Government has made keeping children and young people safe a priority, aiming to ensure all children have the chance to fulfil their potential. The Children Act 2004 received Royal Assent on 15 November 2004. Part 1 of the Act establishes the office of Children’s Commissioner. Part 2 of the Act provides the legislative framework for more effective, co-operative working between agencies whose work impacts upon children and young people.

2. The Children Act created Children Services Authorities, which is essentially combined social and education services. These Authorities have a duty to promote the co-operation of relevant partners [1] as listed within the Act. Police authorities are defined as relevant partners under Part 2 s.4(b) and s.11(h) Part 2 s.10 of the Act places specific duties on a range of relevant partners to co-operate with each Children Services Authority with a view to improving the well being of children in the authority’s area. This provides the legal underpinning to Every Child Matters.

3. The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to [2]:

• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being

This means that the organisations involved with providing services to children – including the police - should be teaming up in new ways, sharing information and working together, to protect children and young people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life. Children and young people will have far more say about issues that affect them as individuals and collectively.

4. Over the next few years, every children service authority will be working with partners, through children's trusts, to find out what works best for children and young people in its area and act on it. The Children Services Authority will need to involve children and young people in this process, and when inspectors assess how local areas are doing, they will listen especially to the views of children and young people themselves.

Duties on Police Authorities

5. Part 2 s.11 of the Act places two specific duties upon police authorities. Police authorities must ensure that [3]:

• their functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote welfare of children; and
• any services provided by another person pursuant to arrangements made by the person or body in the discharge of their functions are provided having regard to that need.

What does this mean in practice?

6. The MPA is noted as a leading Authority for its oversight and scrutiny of the MPS performance in child protection and youth policy. After Victoria Climbié and Lord Laming’s report, the MPA along with the MPS has established robust oversight of police force activity and performance, particularly SCD5 in PPRC and MPS youth policy through EODB and the Community Engagement Unit. The MPS ECM Programme Board has been established, with membership of the PPRC Chair and aims to co-ordinate the implications of ECM across Territorial policing and Specialist Crime. This established oversight programme, was therefore established as a basis for the APA guidance for oversight of Police Force duties under ECM. This is detailed in Appendix 1 annex 1, however, whilst based on MPS and MPA processes, the amended template will place specific duties upon the MPA. It is therefore proposed that the Planning and Performance Committee consider this template, amend as appropriate for the strategic priorities of the MPA and agrees a timetable for scrutiny during 2007/08.

7. Whilst the oversight of police force activity is a major component to police authority compliance with Children Act 2004, it does not aggregate a full discharge of its duties. The APA therefore developed a clear guidance for police authority policy, placing further duties on the authority themselves. This is detailed in Appendix 1 annex 2, however it concentrates on the following headings:

• A commitment of the Authority to children and young people;
• Regularly monitors, scrutinises, challenges and supports the force to fulfil its duties under the Act;
• A clear statement of the Authority’s responsibilities towards children and young people is available;
• The authority listens and responds to the views of children, young people and their families.

It is recommended that the Authority agrees to implement APA proposals and establish a coordinated approach, led by the PPRC Chair; this is to include detailed review of its current and future youth policy in a small working group to report to Full Authority in April.

C. Race and equality impact

Every Child Matters has clear and distinct equality and diversity implications. It aims to ensure that policies and services are designed around the needs and well being of children and young people. Once the Police Authority has established a clear statement of its policy in relation to how it will implement requirements under the Act, processes should be in place to ensure all police authority members and staff are aware of its ECM objectives. A co-ordinated approach across MPA committees and teams is therefore critical.

D. Financial implications

8. There are no financial implications to this particular report, however is agreed, a fresh approach to MPA youth policy may result growth requirements to the Authority in 2007/08. It is therefore recommended that MPA officers from the Treasury are engaged with the working group.

E. Background papers

All these documents can be found at: www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/publications/

• The Victoria Climbié inquiry report by Lord Laming (2003)
• Keeping Children Safe - Government's response to the Victoria Climbié inquiry report and the Joint Chief Inspectors' report Safeguarding Children (2003)
• Every Child Matters green paper (2003)
• Every Child Matters summary of green paper (2003)
• Every Child Matters: What Do You Think? - Children and young people's version of the green paper (2003)
• Youth Justice: the Next Steps (2003)
• The Children Act Report (2003)
• Every Child Matters: Next Steps (2004)
• Consultation response to Youth Justice: the Next Steps (2004)
• Every Child Matters: Analysis of Children and Young People's Responses to the Consultation Document
• Every Child Matters: Report of Consultation Meetings with Children and Young People
• Every Child Matters: The Way Forward What You Said and What We Are Going to Do
• The Children Act 2004
• Every Child Matters: Change for Children (2004)

F. Contact details

Report author: Sally Benton, MPA

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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