National LADO standards
The Department for Education and the Welsh Government should: introduce a set of national standards for local authority designated officers in England and in Wales to promote consistency; and clarify in statutory guidance that the local authority designated officer can be contacted for informal advice as well as when a concern or allegation needs to be referred.
- The Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance was updated in December 2023 (Working Together to Safeguard Children, HM Government, December 2023).
- No published national standards for local authority designated officers as specified in this recommendation have been identified to March 2026.
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted in Part
Response
Accepted in PartOn 30 June 2022, the UK government stated that it was considering the scope and timetable for a review of the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. It stated that it will consider revised content on the role of local authority designated officers, and that it will consider running a full public consultation on changes to the statutory guidance. On 30 June 2022, the Welsh Government stated that in most, if not all, cases designated officers are qualified social workers and, as such, already adhere to professional standards. However, in addition, Social Care Wales are working on national minimum standards for safeguarding training.