Publications

This guide is a follow-up to the guide by the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Democratic Services Officers published in 2013, as health and wellbeing boards (HWBs) were being set up. Now that boards are fully operational, their emphasis is on being as effective as possible in their statutory and influencing roles.

The lead member for children's services (LMCS) has a statutory role in ensuring the council fulfils its duty for safeguarding children; in partnership with education, childcare and health services, the police and communities.

The Raising of the Participation Age (RPA) requires young people to continue in education, training or apprenticeships to the age of 18 by 2015.

On 31 May 2011, a BBC Panorama television programme showed people with a learning disability being subjected to extreme, criminal abuse by staff at Winterbourne view private assessment and treatment centre.

Effective, high quality early years provision makes a difference to young children, helping to break the cycle of disadvantage to give them a good start in life. It is a key element of early help and leads to better developmental outcomes and readiness to learn.

When problems first arise in families, early help is not only beneficial for children but essential for making the best use of resources.

Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges at any stage in a child's life. The aim is to ensure problems do not escalate to become more acute, and more costly, to the detriment of children and families.

How do we make the most of each and every opportunity to help people improve their health and wellbeing? Making every contact count (MECC) is an approach to improving health and reducing health inequalities developed by the NHS and local government.

The Care Act 2014, together with a range of regulations and statutory guidance, is the base upon which social care will develop over the next few decades.

Since then we have consulted widely with children and young people and with partners in the public and voluntary sectors, and have now set out a clear set of shared ambitions for children that we would seek to deliver in the context of ‘rewired' public services.