Cautious welcome for National Independent Safeguarding Board

NSPCC Cymru / Wales has welcomed the recent announcement of appointments to the new National Independent Safeguarding Board.

In a written statement, the Welsh government has confirmed members of the new Board, which will oversee the work of protecting children and adults in Wales.

The NSPCC had previously called for separate adult and child boards – instead of a joint body – and today warned against any loss of focus on key child safeguarding issues, including sexual abuse, child neglect and online safety.

The charity is committed to working closely with the new board, which has been established under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, and will:

Provide support and advice to safeguarding boards to ensure they are effective
Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of arrangements to safeguard children and adults in Wales
Make recommendations to Welsh Ministers about how those arrangements could be improved.

Head of NSPCC Cymru, Des Mannion, said:

“I welcome today’s (feb 11th-2016) appointments and look forward to working with the new board in the months and years ahead.

“However, we have been clear that we do not believe a joint child and adult board is the right approach and the decision to continue with this remains a matter of concern.

“NSPCC research shows that one in five children in the UK have experienced serious abuse and neglect in their childhood so – going forward – it‘s absolutely crucial that both the government and the board – as a whole –  take an extremely strong lead on key children’s safeguarding issues.

“Losing any focus on that remains a worry and we will continue to liaise closely with the board on critical issues including sexual abuse, child neglect and online safety.”