Accountability and Reporting

The Local Safeguarding Children Board is accountable to the Director of Children’s Services and the Lead Member for Children’s Services who have a particular focus on how the local authority is fulfilling its responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.  The LSCB has a clear and distinct identity within the developing Children’s Trust governance arrangements, and is not an operational sub committee of the Children’s Trust Board.  It provides reports to the existing Integration Project Board and the developing Children’s Trust arrangements for Bath and North East Somerset.  The Chair of the Local Safeguarding Children Board prepares reports on the effectiveness of the arrangements for the LSCB in Bath and North East Somerset to the Council Executive.  Further, the LSCB’s own activities are part of the overall Children and Young People’s Plan and this enables its work to be scrutinised by the Local Authority by other local partners and other key stakeholders. 

The inspection framework will also play an important role in reinforcing the ongoing monitoring of the work of the LSCB.  The Review arrangements for the Children and Young People’s Plan assesses the contribution made to the outcomes for children and young people.  The effectiveness of the LSCB will be judged within The Joint Area Review taking place in May 2008.

Whilst the LSCB plays the key role in co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of local individuals’ and organisations’ work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, it is not accountable for their operational work.  Each Board partner retains their own existing lines of accountability for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children by their Services.  The LSCB does not have a power to direct other organisations but will advise the Local Authority and Board partners on ways to improve.  When there are concerns about the work of partners and these cannot be addressed locally, the Chair of the LSCB will report these to the most senior individual in the partner organisation, to the relevant Inspectorate, and, if necessary, to the relevant Government Department.