LAMI-16 Response Historic AI-assessed

Issue guidance on data protection and confidentiality for child welfare information sharing

Recommendation

The Government should issue guidance on the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998, and common law rules on confidentiality. The Government should issue guidance as and when these impact on the sharing of information between professional groups in circumstances where there are concerns about the welfare of children and families.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' guidance, the government issued guidance on information sharing in child safeguarding, notably through 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' guidance, which addresses the Data Protection Act 1998, Human Rights Act 1998, and common law confidentiality rules in the context of child welfare. According to the available evidence, this guidance has been updated multiple times since the Laming Inquiry.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Historic

No government response recorded.

Source
Report Laming Inquiry — Final Report 28 Jan 2003
Recommendation age 23.2 yrs
Last formal update No formal updates