LAMI-36
Response
Historic
AI-assessed
Require legal advice before emergency child harm action, ensure 24-hour availability
Recommendation
No emergency action on a case concerning an allegation of deliberate harm to a child should be taken without first obtaining legal advice. Local authorities must ensure that such legal advice is available 24 hours a day.
Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
No specific published evidence has been identified detailing a requirement for local authorities to obtain legal advice before taking emergency action in cases of alleged deliberate harm to a child, or to ensure 24-hour availability of such legal advice. General search results on GOV.UK for 'directors social services' do not provide specific policy or guidance related to this requirement.
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
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Historic
Response
HistoricNo government response recorded.
Themes & Tags
Recommendation age
23.2 yrs
Last formal update
No formal updates