Statutory guidance for information sharing duty

Keeping children safe is a priority for this Government, and for too long poor information sharing has been identified as a contributory factor to serious child safeguarding incidents. Effective information sharing is essential to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, to stop them from falling through the cracks. Where information is not shared in a timely and proportionate way, opportunities to identify need early, provide support, and prevent harm escalating can be missed.

As found in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care 2022, and further evidenced by the Department’s 2023 Report to Parliament, Improving multi-agency information sharing, difficulty interpreting and applying legislation has hindered effective information sharing, particularly in cases where there is no clear evidence of significant harm. Safeguarding practitioners therefore called for greater clarity on sharing information which falls below the statutory threshold for action under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and for the use of a child identifier to improve confidence that all organisations are talking about the same child and streamline the information sharing process.

In response, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act introduces, for the first time, a statutory Information Sharing Duty. This duty, under the new section 16LA of the Children Act 2004, places a clear legal expectation on relevant organisations to share information where it is relevant to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. It is intended to provide clarity, confidence and consistency across the system.

This draft statutory guidance explains how the duty should be applied in practice. It is designed to support organisations and practitioners to understand when information must be shared, how professional judgement should be applied, and how information sharing can take place lawfully and proportionately.

Purpose of this guidance

This is the first time statutory guidance has been issued on the operation of the Information Sharing Duty, building on the Department’s previous non-statutory advice  on information sharing more broadly. The guidance seeks to do more than restate legal provisions. It aims to support a cultural shift in how information sharing is understood and practised across safeguarding systems.

In particular, the guidance is intended to:

• Reinforce that information sharing is a core safeguarding and welfare activity,
• Encourage earlier and more proactive sharing, including where concerns relate to emerging need or prevention rather than harm; and
• Support practitioners to act with confidence, knowing that the law enables and requires relevant information to be shared where it may help other organisations safeguard or promote a child’s welfare.
• Clarify that effective multi-agency information sharing should be understood as a dialogue between relevant agencies, and hence the acknowledgement of information received, and communication of outcomes is important to understand what action has been taken.

The guidance also seeks to address long‑standing confusion and inconsistency by clarifying the relationship between information sharing and issues such as consent, confidentiality, data protection and statutory thresholds.

It will replace the Department’s existing non-statutory advice, Information sharing advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services for children, young people,parents and carers, and should be read alongside the statutory guidance, Working together to safeguard children 2026.

We also expect to deliver other implementation support measures following the publication of statutory guidance, including materials to make children and families aware of changes under the information sharing duty.

Who this consultation is for

This consultation is open to the public. The following list provides examples of interested parties but is not exhaustive:

• Local authorities
• NHS bodies (such as Integrated Care Boards and NHS Trusts)
• Police Forces
• National Crime Agency and other law enforcement bodies, including British Transport Police, Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors and Police Authorities
• Probation services
• Youth offending teams
• Prison services (including governors or directors of prisons and secure training centres)
• British Transport Police
• Schools and education settings
• Designated childcare settings
• Services delivering safeguarding functions on behalf of organisations listed in section 11 of the Children Act, such as GPs.

About this consultation

Given the significance of this guidance, and its role in shaping practice across multiple sectors, the government is consulting widely to ensure that it is clear, usable and effective in practice. In particular, we want to understand whether the draft guidance:

• is clearly understood by those to whom it applies;
• gives practitioners confidence to share information earlier, and appropriately;
• supports lawful, proportionate engagement with children and families;
• can be implemented effectively within existing local arrangements and systems; and
• is likely to lead to meaningful and lasting changes in information sharing culture and practice.

The consultation recognises that safeguarding is delivered across diverse settings and professions, and that successful implementation will depend on shared understanding, trust and practical feasibility.

We would like to hear your views on our guidance.

Please note that this consultation applies to England only.

We know that not everyone will wish or feel able to answer all of the questions in this consultation. You are encouraged to answer the questions you would like to respond to, but you do not have to respond to all of them.