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Barnardo’s wants beefed up powers for Local Safeguarding Children Boards to help tackle child sexual exploitation

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Barnardo’s is calling for the government to give Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) in England legal powers to compel local agencies to provide them with information so they can effectively record the issue.

It comes on the day that a report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England (OCCE) revealed that only 48% of LSCBs said that agencies in their area had identified any victims at all.

The charity wants LSCBs to have the power to ensure agencies, including the police, health and social services, share information about at risk children in order to protect vulnerable youngsters and get a better idea of the scale of the issue.

While there has been progress at a strategic level The OCCE’s report identified that this is not filtering down to frontline staff and as a result chances to safeguard sexually exploited and at risk children may be missed.

Currently there are no legal barriers to information sharing between agencies but Barnardo’s believes there is still a reluctance that must be overcome so vulnerable children don’t slip through the net.

Barnardo’s CEO Javed Khan said:

It is simply inexcusable that in 2015 nearly half the agencies in England have failed to identify any victims of child sexual exploitation. Wherever we open a service we find children and young people who need our help.

Barnardo’s supported more than 2,000 sexually exploited children last year and we know that it can affect any child regardless of their background, ethnicity or upbringing.

It is vital that Local Safeguarding Children Boards are robust and vigorous in mapping the problem, holding agencies to account and raising awareness to ensure everyone is able to spot the signs of child sexual exploitation.”

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