R15 Response Accepted

Inspection of non-referral decisions

Recommendation

The Commission for Social Care Inspection should, as part of any social services inspection, review whether decisions not to inform the police have been properly taken.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
Government reports this recommendation as delivered. Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) incorporated review of non-referral decisions into social services inspections.
Sources
Government response (2004-06-22): Accepted Source: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2004-06-22/debates/3637ce59-cd9a-462c-8b69-a29dc01e93a2/BichardInquiryReport Text: The Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament on 22 June 2004, the day the Bichard Inquiry Report was published, accepting all 31 recommendations in full. The government stated it was "in principle, accepting Sir Michael's main recommendations and will act on them immediately." Implementation le Progress update (2006-06-01): Completed Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) incorporated review of non-referral decisions into social services inspections. CSCI later replaced by CQC and Ofsted, which continue to inspect safeguarding arrangements. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by baseline-data-v1 on 26 May 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted Home Office
22 Jun 2004

The Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament on 22 June 2004, the day the Bichard Inquiry Report was published, accepting all 31 recommendations in full. The government stated it was "in principle, accepting Sir Michael's main recommendations and will act on them immediately." Implementation led to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the creation of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (now the Disclosure and Barring Service). By February 2007, 21 of the 31 recommendations had been fully or substantially completed. See Hansard, 22 June 2004.

Read Full Response
Note: Government responded with a single statement accepting all 31 recommendations. Individual per-recommendation responses were not published separately.
Progress Timeline
Home Office states: Official Report
01 Jun 2006

Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) incorporated review of non-referral decisions into social services inspections. CSCI later replaced by CQC and Ofsted, which continue to inspect safeguarding arrangements.

Source
Source
Inquiry Bichard Inquiry
Report The Bichard Inquiry Report 22 Jun 2004
View Source
Responsible Bodies
DfES Primary
Themes & Tags
Missed Child Safeguarding Referrals Child Protection Safeguarding
Recommendation age 21.9 yrs
Last formal update 7304 days ago