I will look carefully at the hon. Lady’s point. For many years, inspections were seen as almost too routine in outstanding schools that were delivering good results. We needed to focus more on the failing schools and those requiring improvement. She makes an important point, however. Child sexual exploitation is an issue that we need to address in this Parliament and beyond, as are the issues of forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and it is important to know that the right safeguarding policies are in place. Of course, these things can also be triggered by boards of governors or by concerned parents, rather than having to have a routine inspection, but I will have a look at her proposal.

The third independent Pitcairn Child Safety Review (CSR) provided a further assessment of child safety and safeguarding measures with 21 recommendations put forward. A summary of the recommendations was placed in the House of Commons Library last year. The majority of the recommendations have been implemented with a small number on going. A further CSR is under discussion.

Her Majesty's Government (HMG) has upgraded its presence on the island with a newly arrived Administrator. Officials visited the island in 2013 and had detailed discussions on child safeguarding with the Council. Child Matters Trust, a New Zealand based Non Governmental Organisation, visited the island in 2014 to deliver training. The new Governor based in New Zealand has re-iterated the importance of child safeguarding during his first visit in November.

There is a stronger partnership between HMG and the Pitcairn Island Council on child safeguarding. We work closely with the Council to implement all the recommendations. Our commitment to strengthen the protection of children, young people and their families on Pitcairn remains a top priority. Established policies and procedures are in place for handling child protection concerns. This includes the retention of a restrictive applications process for visits to Pitcairn by minors. There is a community of professionals on Pitcairn, including a police officer, a trained social worker, a teacher and a doctor, who all play an important role in child safety. Until such time as a future report shows no risk to children on the island, the very robust safeguarding measures will remain in place.

A robust assessment of the needs of a child and their family and how these needs will be met through on-going support from the local authority is crucial if children are to return home safely and successfully from care. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 are clear that the child’s care plan must provide details of the advice, assistance and support that the responsible authority intends to provide after the child has returned home. Page 19 of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013 sets out the principles and parameters of a good assessment. The guidance is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children

Improving practice when children return home from care is a priority for the Government. In 2013 we consulted on a range of proposals to improve permanence for looked-after children. Department for Education officials have convened a meeting of the relevant Expert Group on 9 September to discuss these issues and the Government’s formal response will be published later this year.

Responses to the consultation on further delegation of children's social care functions are currently being considered.

The Department for Education and the Department of Health are in ongoing contact on child protection and related issues at a range of levels. This includes joined up working between the two chief social workers.

The Department for Education and the Home Office are in ongoing contact on local multi-agency information sharing models, including multi-agency safeguarding hubs and related issues at a range of levels.

The full report of the Pitcairn Child Safety Review 2013 cannot be laid due to the personal data contained within. However, I am happy to lay the summary report before the House.

Independent schools must follow the independent school standards and statutory guidance on safeguarding, as well as requirements on vetting checks for staff. The inspection and regulatory system is designed to ensure schools meet these standards and any failure to do so triggers a process designed to bring the school up to standard or ultimately be closed.

First, may I pay tribute to the hon. Lady, who is not standing again at the next election? Throughout her time in Parliament, she has been a real stalwart and a supporter of children in care, particularly the most vulnerable. I know that many families, not only in Sheffield but across the country, will be grateful for the work she has done. We will issue the updated guidance shortly, and I reassure her that we will look specifically at how we can ensure that the information given to local safeguarding children boards by independent schools is provided properly; that will be made as clear as possible in the guidance that is to follow.

Development of the business case for the Child Protection—Information Sharing project, which involved engagement with over 150 health and social care professionals concerned with the protection of children, included a full assessment of its expected benefits.

The project is designed to offer practitioners in emergency departments and other unscheduled health care settings prompt and easy access to relevant social care information about a child's history, including whether the child is subject to a child protection plan or is looked after by a local authority. This information will help the clinician to make a clear assessment of a child's risk of abuse or neglect. The system will also give local authorities information on when and where children for whom they are responsible have presented in such health care settings.

The Child Protection—Information Sharing project is expected to go live in first wave sites in Lancashire and London in spring 2014. Evaluation will be ongoing and any lessons learned will be taken on board before the project is rolled out to further sites.

A third Pitcairn Child Safety Review, commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, was completed by independent experts in May 2013. The Government is working with the Pitcairn Island Council to implement these recommendations. Our commitment to strengthen the protection of children, young people and their families on Pitcairn remains a top priority.

Even in difficult times, the Government have managed to increase funding to vulnerable areas. If the hon. Lady has an authority specifically in mind—[Interruption.] I do not call £3.8 billion from the health budget to deal with vulnerable people a trivial sum. I am surprised that Labour Front Benchers mock that. I know that this is a reality, but if the hon. Lady has specific authorities in mind that are increasing the threshold,

given the effect that that has had on a number of authorities where things have gone terribly wrong, I will look into it for her.

The Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson), had the opportunity to speak at the NSPCC conference, and I had an opportunity to read the report, which I found thought-provoking and challenging. In our reform of social work practice, we are attempting to ensure that social workers can spend more time with families in need where there are children who are at risk or face neglect. We will make more announcements shortly about how we are enhancing the way the social work profession works with families that need its support.

The Government is currently developing plans for evaluating the Troubled Families programme as a whole. We expect that child neglect will be a problem in a significant number of these families, and some will have children on Child Protection Plans, or who have been taken into care because of abuse or neglect. Some authorities are specifically choosing to prioritise these issues in choosing which families to work with, from among those who meet the national criteria.

The Troubled Families programme is supported by seven Government Departments. A cross Whitehall group of Ministers is collectively responsible for the implementation of the programme. The Department for Education is represented on both the ministerial and senior officials' group, and officials at working level meet and communicate regularly. The Government is

developing robust evaluation arrangements for the programme. Families involved in the programme are likely to include some where there are concerns about child neglect, and this is one of the problems the programme aims to address.

The Troubled Families Unit is looking at what works most effectively to address the problems troubled families face and we are working with the Department for Education to strengthen work with troubled families where there are child protection issues, including concerns about child neglect.

Professional training materials on child neglect, commissioned by the Department for Education have been available on their website since June. The Department for Education are in the process of revising statutory guidance in this area to give local areas more freedom to organise their services in a way that meets local need, and to enable practitioners to focus on the individual needs of each child. The Troubled Families Team will continue to work closely with the Department for Education in this area.

Two child safety reviews have so far been commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development to assess the adequacy of child safety standards on Pitcairn Island. These reviews, the first in 2009 and the latest last year, have been completed by independent experts (including from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation). The British Government has proceeded to implement, where possible, the recommendations made in the reports for further strengthening of child safeguarding measures on Pitcairn.

There is a significant community of professionals based full-time on Pitcairn including a community police officer seconded from the New Zealand Police Service, a family and community adviser, who is a New Zealand

trained social worker, a teacher and a doctor. There is also an FCO official, stationed full-time on Pitcairn, who is engaged in safeguarding work. All professionals receive child protection training before they go to the island and there are established policies and procedures in place for handling specific child protection concerns. Most members of the island community have also attended human rights training and child protection training.

All visitors to Pitcairn are made aware of the child protection measures in place on the island and are offered child safety advice.

Convicted offenders who have been released on parole are subject to a number of conditions specified by the Pitcairn Parole Commission, including restrictions on their movements and on whom they may associate with. Offenders are closely monitored by their supervision officer—the community police officer. Offenders have been obliged to participate in an Offender Treatment Programme.

A Pitcairn Sexual Offences Ordinance (2010) modelled on the UK Sexual Offences Act 2003 is now in force. It provides for a sex offenders register, sexual offences prevention orders and risk of sexual harm orders.

Another child safety review is scheduled for 2013.