The Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership is responsible for ensuring services are delivered, in the right way, at the right time, so that children are safe and we make a positive difference to the lives of them and their family.
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 sets out the responsibilities of the three safeguarding statutory partners, and within that those of the Lead Safeguarding Partners (LSPs), who are named as the Chief Officer of Police, the Chief Executive of the Local Authority and the Chief Executive of the local Integrated Care Board (ICB).
The joint functions of the lead safeguarding partners are to:
- Set the strategic direction, vision, and culture of the local safeguarding arrangements, including agreeing and reviewing shared priorities and the resource required to deliver services effectively.
- Lead their organisation’s individual contribution to the shared priorities, ensuring strong governance, accountability, and reporting mechanisms to hold their delegates to account for the delivery of agency commitments.
- Review and sign off key partnership documents: published multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, including plans for independent scrutiny, shared annual budget, yearly report, and local threshold document.
- Provide shared oversight of learning from independent scrutiny, serious incidents, local child safeguarding practice reviews, and national reviews, ensuring recommendations are implemented and have a demonstrable impact on practice (as set out in the yearly report).
- Ensure multi-agency arrangements have the necessary level of business support, including intelligence and analytical functions, such as an agreed data set providing oversight and a robust understanding of practice.
- Ensure all relevant agencies, including education settings, are clear on their role and contribution to multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
The LSCP Executive consists of the three statutory agencies that have equal and joint responsibilities for local safeguarding arrangements and ensuring that responsibilities under Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 are discharged. They set and lead the strategic safeguarding vision, provide leadership across the city, and identify the LSCP priorities.
The three statutory agencies and representatives for the city are:
- Chief Superintendent - Leeds District Commander, West Yorkshire Police
- Director of Children and Families, Leeds City Council
- Director of Nursing and Quality, Leeds office of NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.
Currently the Executive also includes:
- LSCP Independent Scrutineer
- LSCP Business Unit Manager
- LSCP Legal Advisor
The LSCP is not a public body under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and therefore is not obliged to respond to FOI requests.
