The Children and Young Persons Bill - Child Deaths
The Children and Young Persons Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 14 November 2007, fulfils commitments made in the White Paper, Care Matters: Time for Change.
The Bill will strengthen the legislative framework underpinning the care system, ensuring the right structure is in place to enable children and young people to receive high-quality care and support.
The Bill will amend the procedures for reporting on child deaths. In particular:
- There will be a duty on registrars to ensure that the Local Safeguarding Children's Board (LSCB) in their area is informed of the particulars of a child's death within 7 days of registering the death.
- Registrars will also have a duty to ensure that the details of corrections made to the register, and that details of any certificates issued to the effect that a death that has occurred outside England and Wales does not need to be registered in England and Wales, are notified to the LSCB in that area within 7 days of making such a correction, or issuing such a certificate.
Discussions are ongoing with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) about the most effective way of achieving this transfer of information electronically.
LSCBs must make arrangements for the receipt of such notifications and must publish those arrangements.
In addition, The Registrar General will have the power supply information to the Secretary of State and to Welsh Ministers for research purposes. Such information can be disclosed by them to an LSCB for the purposes of its functions.
Discussions are in progress with the Ministry of Justice about amendments to the Coroners' Rules. It is envisaged that coroners will have a duty to inform the LSCB in their area of the fact of death of a child, and the power to share information from their investigation with the relevant LSCB.
For further information about the Children and Young Persons Bill, visit the DCSF website.
This page was last updated on 23 April 2008
