Submission to the open consultation by HM Government: Reporting and acting on child abuse and neglect

This submission is presented by Dr Lauren Devine, Associate Professor of Jurisprudence, and Mr Stephen Parker, Senior Law Lecturer, Centre for Applied Legal Research, University of the West of England, Bristol. We are Principal and Co-Investigator of the Economic and Social Research Council funded research ‘Rethinking Child Protection Strategy'. The Government granted a consultation on Reporting and Acting on Child Abuse and Neglect on 28th October 2014 during the debate on amendment 43 tabled by Baroness Walmsley in the Serious Crimes Bill. The amendment sought the introduction of some form of mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect. An open consultation opened on 21st July 2016, closing on 13th October 2016. The consultation covers a large number of detailed questions, but in essence the question is whether a ‘mandatory reporting duty’ and/or whether a ‘duty to act’ is both feasible and desirable. Answering these questions is complex, and we set out below the issues from our research that of particular relevance. Our research provides a longitudinal analysis of child protection strategies and policies in England over the twenty-five years since the Children Act 1989 came into force, a detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of all available Serious Case Review findings and an analysis of the use of risk prediction in safeguarding and child protection. Our focus in this and our previous funded project3 is on referrals and assessments. We have paid particular attention on the processes by which referring agencies make decisions to refer children. In this regard we comment on the question of introducing a new, mandatory reporting requirement in cases of suspected child abuse.