Statutory Duties
Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) co-ordinate local safeguarding activity and drive improvement to safeguard and promote the welfare of children more effectively. Their role, functions, governance and operation are set out in Chapter 3 of the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children.
Local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) are the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area will cooperate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do.
The scope of the LSCB role falls into three categories:
1. they engage in activities that safeguard all children and aim to identify and prevent maltreatment, or impairment of health or development, and to ensure that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with safe and effective care;
2. they lead and coordinate proactive work that aims to target particular groups; and
3. they lead and co-ordinate arrangements for responsive work to protect children who are suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.
County-level and unitary local authorities (LAs) are responsible for establishing an LSCB in their area and ensuring that it is run effectively. Membership of the LSCB is made up of senior managers from different services and agencies in a local area, including the independent and voluntary sector. In addition, the Board receives input from experts, for example, the designated nurse or doctor.
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