Operational Policing
Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons Team was set up in August 2005 with a remit to coordinate the Home Office’s many roles in relation to safeguarding both adults and children. Initially the team focussed on child safeguarding but from September 2006 has extended its work to include vulnerable adults.
Safeguarding children and young people is a major priority for the government and forms a crucial part of the Every Child Matters and Children's Plan (new window)led by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF).
The government aims to ensure that all work related to safeguarding children is joined up to ensure that policies and strategies to improve safeguarding practice are effectively coordinated and implemented. The mapping exercise of child safeguarding work undertaken by the Home Office in 2006 started the process of reviewing how work could be better connected.
DCSF has developed a cross Government strategy for children and young people called "Staying Safe". An Action Plan (new window) highlights key measures for Government Departments to implement which is being monitored by a Child Safety PSA Board. "Staying Safe" is an integral part of DCSF's The Children's Plan, a 10 year strategy which puts children's and families' needs at the heart of policy making ensuring that these are met by integrated services.
A new Public Service Agreement (PSA 13) to improve children and young people's safety was issued for the first time on 9 October 2007. PSA 13 will allow the Government to monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness of policies to keep children and young people safe, giving this issue the sustained national priority it deserves. The PSA will be measured by 4 indicators. These are:
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children and young people who have experienced bullying
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initial assessments for children's social care carried out within 7 working days of referral
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hospital admissions caused by unintentional and deliberate injuries to children and young people
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preventable child deaths as recorded through child death review panel processes.
The delivery agreement (new window) explains how this will work in practice. A new Child Safety Unit has also been created within DCSF to drive delivery of the PSA, co-ordinate work across Government and deliver some of the DCSF commitments in the Staying Safe Action Plan.
As part of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons Team remit a quarterly bulletin is published explaining the latest policy developments in safeguarding children and young people across Government. Read the latest news and views in the issues listed below.
New practice guidance
As a key measure of the Government's UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking (new window), the Home Office and DCSF published practice guidance in December 2007- Working together to safeguard children who may have been trafficked - to supplement the Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance (new window), published in April 2006.
The new guidance provides professionals with information on child trafficking and guides them into taking appropriate action to safeguard a child victim of trafficking. It was developed through extensive consultation, with a wide range of policy and practice professionals.
Modern day slavery
Child trafficking into and within the UK has become a highly organised crime equivalent to a form of modern day slavery. Victims are coerced, deceived or forced into the control of others who seek to profit from their exploitation and suffering. The guidance provides sets of trafficking indicators to help professionals working across social care, education, immigration, health and law enforcement develop an awareness and ability to identify trafficked children. Many of these children are reluctant to disclose their plight either out of fear of reprisal or due to a misplaced loyalty to their trafficker.
The practice guidance will not only help prevent those children who are being trafficked from suffering further harm, but will also contribute to preventing future generations of children from being trafficked.
NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line (0800 107 7057)
The Home Office played a pivotal role in scoping the need for a national advice line for children's practitioners and in bringing together several children's charities in setting up the NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line (CTAIL). This was launched on 7 October, 2007 and implements a second measure in the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking.
The service is jointly funded by the Home Office and Comic Relief and is proving an invaluable resource to children's practitioners who suspect a child may have been trafficked. CTAIL provides quick and reliable support to practitioners and gives more in depth advice where cases need this.
Home Office funded e-learning tool kit
A new e-learning tool kit (new window) financed by the Home Office and developed by ECPAT (UK) provides practitioners with an additional resource to improve their skills in identifying and taking appropriate action to safeguard trafficked children.
United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) Code of Practice
UKBA announced on 31 January 2008 its consultation on the Code of Practice to safeguard children entering the immigration system. This finished on 25 April. It is issued under section 21 (1) of the UK Borders Act 2007. The Code of Practice is a clear statement of the requirement for immigration officers to be responsive to the needs of children and ensure they are kept safe from harm.
Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Reform Programme
UKBA announced on 31 January 2008 its strategy for delivering improved support to unaccompanied asylum seeking children. The programme - Better Outcomes: The Way Forward aims to have better procedures in place for identifying and supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children who are the victims of trafficking. It plans to locate unaccompanied asylum seeking children with specialist local authorities to ensure their needs are met. UKBA officials are currently discussing a service specification with interested local authorities.
