Long term solutions needed to improve child safeguarding

Reacting to the first annual report on the work of the Warwickshire Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), Councillor Jerry Roodhouse says long term solutions are needed to improve children's safeguarding across Warwickshire.

The report shows that the rate of referrals being recorded per 10,000 of the child population has increased to its highest in the last four years. 98% of all agencies have seen an increase in the number of referrals they sent to MASH, with 26% of referrals coming from the Police and 19% from Nurseries, Schools and Colleges.

The Warwickshire Missing, Exploited and Trafficked Children Strategy for 2017-2020 highlights the need for agencies to work across borders with partners in other Local Authority areas to effectively respond to child sexual exploitation.

Commenting on the report, Councillor Jerry Roodhouse, said:

"Whilst I recognise that a lot of work is being done in this area and welcome the initiatives, I still find it very troubling that the figures are increasing. Yes, it does mean that we are recording it better, but when I asked at the County Council what do we do with the data to improve the services I did not get a clear answer. It is vital that we tackle these important issues and find long term solutions not short-term fixes."

Warwickshire Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/mash