Consultation outcome – Working Together to Safeguard Children: revisions to statutory guidance

Significant changes to local multi-agency arrangements have recently been established through the Children and Social Work 2017. The Act creates new duties for police, health and the local authority to make arrangements locally to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area. Following the passage of the Act in April 2017, the Government has worked to revise the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children, and draft the regulations required to commence the legislation. The public consultation on these draft documents ran from 25 October 2017 to 31 December 2017.

During this period, the Government also held a series of nine regional consultation events across England. The consultation sought sector input on the proposed changes to Working Together to
Safeguard Children, as well as the draft regulations. It attracted 703 responses from a wide variety of interested stakeholders, including representatives from local authorities, health sector bodies, police, youth justice, voluntary and community organisations, social care professionals, safeguarding boards and educational establishments. Nearly 450 delegates attended the regional events and shared their views in person.

This document summarises the results of the consultation, and sets out the Government’s response.

Go to consultation outcome document

PHE – Open consultation Feeding in the first year of life

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) consultation on its draft report ‘Feeding in the first year of Life’ is open for comment.

Health visitors are invited to submit comments relating to the scientific content of the draft SACN report ‘Feeding in the First Year of Life’. You are also invited to draw the committee’s attention to any evidence that it may have missed.

By The original uploader was Ellywa at Dutch Wikipedia – Transferred from nl.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7113434

Please ensure that any evidence you bring to SACN’s attention satisfies the inclusion and exclusion criteria summarised in the ‘consultation invitation’, see link below.

Please send your responses to [email protected] by 5pm on 13 September 2017.

All responses will be published following the conclusion of the consultation.

Go to PHE consultation on Feeding in the First Year of Life

Public consultation on mandatory reporting on child abuse and neglect

The Government’s proposals for mandatory reporting of child abuse are now open to consultation.

The consultation seeks views on the possible introduction of one of two additional statutory measures: a mandatory reporting duty or a duty to act. It responds to the aims set out in the Serious Crime Act 2015 and tackling child sexual exploitation report, published in March 2015.

Please note the consultation closes at midnight on 13 October 2016.

View the consultation documents

DH: open consultation – Changes to Nursing and Midwifery Council governing legislation

The Department of Health (DH) is seeking views on the proposed changes to the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s midwifery regulation and fitness to practise processes.

The government has proposed changes to current the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s governing legislation through changes to the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001.

These proposed changes will:

remove statutory midwifery supervision provisions, which will result in a clear separation of the roles and purpose of the supervision and regulation of midwives
remove the statutory Midwifery Committee from the NMC’s governance structures.
make improvements to the NMC’s fitness to practise processes to enable further improvements and deal with cases in a more appropriate manner

This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 17 June 2016.

For further information and to respond to the consultation

Dr Cheryll Adams, executive director of the iHV, said:

These proposed changes will have an impact on those health visitors who were direct entry midwives – for the better. It will mean that they don’t have to go through a second tier of fitness to practise.

HEE seeks views on new nursing support role

Health Education England (HEE) has launched a consultation process and is keen to hear views on the new role which will work alongside health care support workers and fully-qualified nurses to deliver hands on care, focusing on ensuring patients continue to get the compassionate care they deserve. The new role will help bridge the gap between health and care support workers, who have a care certificate and graduate registered nurses. It also offer opportunities for health care assistants to progress into nursing roles.

Healthcare employers, nurses, care assistants, health commissioners and other stakeholders are invited to comment on the design of a new nursing support role.

The consultation seeks views on a range of issues, this includes:

Principles for the new care role.
learning outcomes that will need to be assessed to assure quality, safety and public confidence in the proposed role.
Identifying what academic achievement, if any, would be required, alongside practical skills and how this learning should be best delivered.
looking at whether or not the proposed role should be regulated.
Agreeing the title of this new role. It has provisionally been given the title Nursing Associate.

This is your opportunity to have your say in the development of a role that will play an important part in the delivery of future healthcare and meet the diverse health needs of people up and down the country.

The consultation closes at midnight on 11 March 2016.

Responses can be made online here