Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS providers remain accountable for discharging their statutory safeguarding duties for children following the closure of NHS England.

The Department and NHS England’s safeguarding officials already work as one team to ensure that ministerial decisions are informed by policy and clinical expertise, considering the distinct yet integrated layers of child safeguarding functions. Through the upcoming transformation of NHS England and its integration with the Department, we will ensure health services continue to deliver core services and statutory safeguarding duties.

NHS England remains committed to supporting integrated, collaborative safeguarding arrangements that reflect statutory duties and local context. NHS England is actively engaging with safeguarding professionals across the system, including those in local government, integrated care boards (ICBs), and provider organisations, to ensure that safeguarding functions are not compromised amidst the upcoming changes. The frameworks and protocols outlining the expectations and accountability for safeguarding across National Health Service funded care continue to apply, with health services remaining accountable for safeguarding.

The statutory safeguarding duties for children are imbedded in the NHS Safeguarding Accountability and Assurance Framework, and NHS England is working with all NHS providers and ICBs to ensure these statutory safeguarding functions are protected through the Model ICB programme.