Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance the Government has issued to the police and local authorities to improve how they share information with each other for the purposes of (a) safeguarding of children and (b) other matters relating to public protection; and if she will make a statement.

Proportionate and timely information is key to keeping children safe. In 2015, the Government published two key documents to support local practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers. These are: ‘Information Sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services’, which sets out how information should be shared between the local authority, police and indeed other agencies, and ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’.

These documents were published as part of a package alongside other key documents, including ‘What to do if you're worried a child is being abused’ and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’. Both documents make clear that if a child is at risk of harm or abuse, practitioners should share information.