Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on their duties under section 17, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989 to promote the upbringing of children in need by their families.

The department’s principal guidance to local authorities on their duties under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 is ‘Working together to safeguard children’. This statutory guidance sets out how agencies should work together to help, support and protect children, including how they should identify and respond to the needs of children in need and their families, including through the provision of Family Help.

The Families First Partnership programme guide provides further non-statutory guidance on delivering Family Help. It brings together targeted early help and support provided under section 17, helping to ensure children and families receive the right support at the right time.

The department does not issue separate statutory guidance specifically on paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989. Local authorities must comply with their duties under the Act and must have regard to relevant statutory guidance, including working together to safeguard children.