Movement of Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan between Local Authorities

Working Together to Safeguard Children requires that where the child and family move permanently to another local authority area, the receiving local authority should convene an Initial Child Protection Conference within 15 working days of being notified of the move, only after which event may discontinuing the Child Protection Plan take place in respect of the original local authority's Child Protection Plan. The information set out below describes the local process for achieving this requirement.

The Social Worker will inform the respective Safeguarding Children Information Management Team in either the County or City of any movements of children subject to a Child Protection Plan within the same working day as the details of the move having taken place are clear.

The Safeguarding Children Information Management Team will notify their counterparts in the receiving authority, giving full details of the child and family including details of the current Social Worker.

If the child's move was planned the Social Worker will liaise with the local Children's Social Care team in the receiving authority as soon as the move is confirmed. The purpose of this is to engage the local Children's Social Care team in planning for the child's ongoing support/safety in advance of the child moving. If the move is not planned the Social Worker will liaise with the local Children's Social Care team in the receiving authority to share all relevant information and agree arrangements for the interim protection of the child within 24 hours of becoming aware of the move. Again the purpose of this is to engage the local Children's Social Care team in planning to for the child's ongoing support/safety as soon as possible.

The Social Worker will notify all members of the Core Group in and the Child Protection Co-ordinator (County)/Independent Reviewing Officer (City) of the child's move in writing. The Social Worker will attend any Initial Child Protection Conference the receiving authority decides to hold, and submit reports as necessary to assist the decision making about the future protection needs of the child.

Once a child subject to a Child Protection Plan has left Nottinghamshire or Nottingham, the Local Authority should make arrangements to discontinue the use of their Child Protection Plan for the specific child when the receiving authority holds their Initial Child Protection Conference. An exception to this would be where there is a plan for the child's imminent return to the originating authority or, in very rare circumstances, where the plan is that either Nottinghamshire or Nottingham City will retain responsibility for the implementation and review of the protection plan, e.g. where a child is subject to proceedings but has remained at home. In the latter case such a proposal must be agreed with the receiving authority. This agreement, the basis for it and any requested action from the receiving authority must be confirmed in writing by the Social Care Team Manager responsible for the case in Nottinghamshire/Nottingham City as soon as possible.

The Safeguarding Children Information Management Team should be notified when a child subject to a Child Protection Plan moves into the authority. This will be by their counterparts in the originating authority or by any local agency that receives the information direct.

In these circumstances the Safeguarding Children Information Management Team will notify the relevant Children's Social Care team within the same working day in order that arrangements can be made for the case to be allocated to a Social Worker and for an assessment to be carried out. The threshold for Section 47 will be met by virtue of the child being subject to a Child Protection Plan of another authority.

The previous authority will be contacted for information and, other than in the exceptional circumstances set out below, an Initial Child Protection Conference should be convened within 15 working days.

The originating authority should be invited to attend and provide reports as necessary to assist the discussion about whether the threshold for the child to continue to be subject to a Child Protection Plan is met.

In the vast majority of circumstances an Initial Child Protection Conference will be required for children subject to a Child Protection Plan of another authority moving into Nottinghamshire or Nottingham City. The only situations in which an Initial Child Protection Conference may not be required is when there is no proposal to discontinue the protection plan in the originating authority either because:

• The child has moved to stay in Nottinghamshire/ Nottingham City on a temporary basis. Temporary in this context means for a short, time-limited period, e.g. a holiday. It does not include children living in temporary accommodation whilst awaiting permanent accommodation in Nottinghamshire/Nottingham City authority; or
• The originating authority wishes to maintain responsibility for the Protection Plan despite the fact that the child/children are living in the County/City. Such situations will be rare and will include for example when an authority is involved in legal proceedings with regards to a child and the child remains at home.

As indicated above the threshold for Section 47 Enquiries will be met in both of these situations by virtue of the fact that information has been received that a child subject to a Protection Plan is living within Nottinghamshire/Nottingham City. What this requires of Social Care locally, and in particular the Team Manager responsible for managing the local response, is that they satisfy themselves that the plans in place are sufficiently robust to protect the child whilst he/she is living in the County/City.

Any decision made not to hold an Initial Child Protection Conference in relation to a child subject to a Child Protection Plan of another authority should be made by a Team Manager who must discuss this decision with a Child Protection Co-ordinator (County) / Independent Reviewing Officer (Nottingham City). This decision must be made with the agreement of the originating authority. The Team Manager from the County/City will write to the originating authority to confirm this proposal and set out any actions that it had been agreed will take place.

These situations will be monitored closely by Safeguarding Children Information Management Team staff who should be kept informed of any change in circumstances.

As indicated above there will be very few circumstances where an Initial Child Protection Conference is not needed in the receiving authority. In such circumstances, subject to the families view and consent, it may be appropriate to continue with and complete a Core Assessment of the child's needs to help determine what support services are best to help promote the child's needs.

Safeguarding Children Information Management Team staff should be informed of any situation when a child's whereabouts are unknown when the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan or where there have been, or are, concerns about their safety and well-being.

The Social Worker has responsibility for tracing the child including referral to the Police, other Children's Social Care departments, Benefits Agency etc. Following agreement with the manager designated to be responsible for the Safeguarding Children Information Management Team staff will assist by notifying other local authorities through the agreed national notification process.