Information Sharing & Data Protection

Introduction

Good information sharing between professionals is vital in relation to child protection.  Numerous Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) show that children can be seriously harmed or die when professionals don’t share information.  Professionals should always seek agreement to share information when it is right to do so and where this does not place a child or adult at risk.  However, if there is no agreement, or if information is seen as “third- party”, this should NEVER be used as an excuse for not sharing information, holding a professional’s meeting or having a conversation with a fellow professional when there are good reasons to be worried about risk to a child.

Golden Rules for Information Sharing

Some professionals worry about their responsibility to keep information private under the Data Protection Act 1998 – but there are simple ways to make sure you share information appropriately:

  1. Remember that the Data Protection Act is not a barrier to sharing information but provides a framework to ensure that personal information about living persons is shared appropriately.
  2. Be open and honest with the person (and/or their family where appropriate) from the outset about why, what, how and with whom information will, or could be shared, and seek their agreement, unless it is unsafe or inappropriate to do so.
  3. Seek advice if you are in any doubt, without disclosing the identity of the person where possible.
  4. Share with consent where appropriate and, where possible, respect the wishes of those who do not consent to share confidential information. You may still share information without consent if, in your judgement, that lack of consent can be overridden in the public interest. You will need to base your judgement on the facts of the case.
  5. Consider safety and well-being: Base your information sharing decisions on considerations of the safety and well-being of the person and others who may be affected by their actions.
  6. Necessary, proportionate, relevant, accurate, timely and secure: Ensure that the information you share is necessary for the purpose for which you are sharing it, is shared only with those people who need to have it, is accurate and up-to-date, is shared in a timely fashion, and is shared securely.
  7. Keep a record of your decision and the reasons for it – whether it is to share information or not. If you decide to share, then record what you have shared, with whom and for what purpose.

Professionals working with children, parents or adults in contact with children, should always share information with children’s social care where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child may be suffering or is at risk of suffering significant harm. Sharing information under these circumstances is legitimate and in the public interest.

Guidance on Information Sharing

Further details and guidance on information sharing can be found in the document Information Sharing: Advice for Practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers, HM Government, July 2018.

A number of Government departments, including the Department for Education (DfE), published a letter in March 2015 addressed to Local Authority Chief Executives which set out the commitment to sharing information for the protection of children.

Data Protection

All Board and Sub Group members are required to view the Data Protection Presentation for RSCP Board and Sub Group Members as part of their induction onto the Board and at regular intervals thereafter.

Additional guidance can be found in our brief guide to Information Security.

GDPR – Privacy Statement

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May 2018.  This requires organisations to seek consent from individuals to receive information circulations.  The RSCP will be e-mailing to all currently held on our e-mail distribution list for training flyers, newsletters and other general safeguarding information and resources seeking consent to continue to send out the mailings.  For new contacts, consent will be sought via the RSCP Contact Form and the RSCP Training Booking Form.  E-mail addresses will be held on our distribution list for a maximum of three years after which they will be destroyed or renewed consent will be requested.  The distribution list will not be shared with other organisations.  If you no longer wish to receive information from the RSCP, please contact RedbridgeSCP@redbridge.gov.uk and your details will be removed from our mailing list.

Resources