Member

I think the noble Baroness identified that there has perhaps been insufficient guidance and support for professionals in this area. Our statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, identifies the utmost importance of practitioners identifying and responding to neglect. Neglect also features in our recently published Families First partnership guide for local areas, which focuses on our reforms to family help and child protection. This is the cornerstone of early intervention. These reforms will produce a fundamental shift in the way we respond to children and families who need support and protection, including where neglect is happening. For example, one of the Families First pathfinders has established a new family help team focused on welfare, benefits and debt advice to help support families where circumstances could lead to cases of neglect. We know that other pathfinders are rolling out specific training on neglect to their family help lead practitioners and multidisciplinary teams.