Information Sharing
To achieve the best outcomes for children and young people; to promote their welfare and safeguard them from harm, agencies need to work together. Children and young people’s needs and circumstances can be complex and it is only by agencies coming together and working collaboratively that we can achieve a holistic assessment of the child or young person within their family and community and ensure that they receive the services that they need.
Effective interagency working is dependent upon effective information sharing whether a child or young person just needs some additional support (early intervention) or whether there are concerns that they are at risk of significant harm (safeguarding).
Early Intervention
Where a practitioner believes that it is necessary to share information to help them to better understand the needs of a child or family or to enable the child or family to receive a service from another agency and the child is not at risk of significant harm they should seek the consent of the parent or carer before requesting the information or contacting the other agency. This will ensure that the family understand the issues and are more engaged with any services provided by agencies.
Safeguarding
Effective joint working can be undermined by poor communication and several Serious Case Reviews have highlighted poor information sharing as a factor. For this reason Working Together 2018 is absolutely clear that “Fears about sharing information must not be allowed to stand in the way of the need to promote the welfare, and protect the safety, of children, which must always be the paramount concern.”
It is important that practitioners share information in an appropriate and timely fashion. Practitioners should, without delay, discuss with their line manager or designated safeguarding lead the need to share information when there are concerns about a child or young person. They will be able to discuss the need to speak to the parent or carer (and child / young person if appropriate) about contacting Children’s Social Work Service, and how to inform the family. This is not the same as seeking consent but will help the parents to understand the concerns and why they will be contacted by Children’s Social Work Service and is consistent with a restorative approach to working with families.
There will be rare occasions when it would not be appropriate to inform parents / carers that Childrens Social Work Service are being contacted, when by doing so the child / young person would be placed at immediate or greater risk of harm. Such an approach is supported by legislation (Children Act 1989, 2004) and the practitioner guidance from individual agencies.
Key Points on Information Sharing
- Explain at the outset, openly and honestly, what and how information will be shared
- Always consider the safety and welfare of a child or young person when making decisions on whether to share information about them
- Seek consent to share confidential information. You may still share information if, in your judgment, there is sufficient need to override the lack of consent
- Seek advice where you are in doubt
- Ensure the information is accurate and up to date, necessary, shared only with those people who need to see it, and shared securely
- Always record the reasons for your decision – whether it is to share information or not.
Common myths that hinder effective information sharing
Data protection legislation is a barrier to sharing information - No. The Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR do not prohibit the collection and sharing of personal information, but rather provide a framework to ensure that personal information is shared appropriately. In particular, the Data Protection Act 2018 balances the rights of the information subject (the individual whom the information is about) and the possible need to share information about them.
Consent is needed to share personal information - No, you do not need consent to share personal information. It is one way to comply with the data protection legislation but not the only way. UK GDPR provides a number of bases for sharing personal information. It is not necessary to seek consent to share information for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of a child provided that there is a lawful basis to process any personal information required. The legal bases that may be appropriate for sharing data in these circumstances could be ‘legal obligation’, or ‘public task’ which includes the performance of a task in the public interest or the exercise of official authority. Each of the lawful bases under UK GDPR has different requirements. It is good practice to be transparent and inform parents/carers that you are sharing information for these purposes and seek to work cooperatively with them, where it is safe to do so.
Personal information collected by one organisation/agency cannot be disclosed to another - No, this is not the case unless the information is to be used for a purpose incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected. In the case of children in need, or children at risk of significant harm, it is difficult to foresee circumstances where information law would be a barrier to sharing personal information with other practitioners.
The common law duty of confidence and the Human Rights Act 1998 prevent the sharing of personal information - No, this is not the case. In addition to the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR, practitioners need to balance the common law duty of confidence and the Human Rights Act 1998 against the effect on individuals or others of not sharing the information.
IT systems are often a barrier to effective information sharing
There are many IT systems that support the sharing of information, such as the Child Protection Information Sharing project (CP-IS). It is important that the sector continues to work with IT suppliers to ensure that their user needs around information sharing are factored into priorities for system enhancement.
(Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023)