Devon Safeguarding Digest – May 2025

Welcome to the Devon Safeguarding Digest. This regular update will help you stay up to speed with safeguarding news and local policy changes.

Care-experienced young people call for better mental health support

325 care-experienced young people have sent a message to the Children’s Minster calling on the government to provide better mental health support for children in care and care leavers.

Read the full report on the Coram Voice website.

Work begins to expand the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel

The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has appointed Sir David Holmes as the new Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. Sir David replaces Annie Hudson.

Work will now begin to expand the role of the panel, as it has been announced that it will form the foundation from which to build the Child Protection Authority (CPA) in England.

The CPA will be established to make the child protection system clearer and more unified, and ensure ongoing improvement for child and youth victims of abuse and neglect through effective, evidence-based support for practitioners.

Further news will follow through the year, including a roadmap to establishing the CPA and launch a consultation on the development of the new CPA.

Victims in Their Own Right report published by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner

A new comprehensive report looks at babies, children and young people’s experience of domestic abuse.

Based on a survey of over 260 domestic abuse services providing support to children, along with 168 statutory agencies responsible for commissioning domestic abuse services, the findings show services are under acute financial pressure leading to children being placed on waiting lists or turned away.

It also finds that, though the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recognises that children are victims of domestic abuse too (rather than just witnesses), the response to children experiencing domestic abuse has so far failed to meet this recognition.

Children’s Commissioners call for removal of ‘reasonable punishment’

The Children’s Commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have called for an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as it progresses through the House of Lords to remove the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ that allows parents in England and Northern Ireland to administer moderate corporal punishment (i.e. ‘smacking’) on their children in some circumstances.

Councils putting homeless children at risk, MPs find

An inquiry by MPs has found that councils are exposing homeless children to serious risk by housing them in unsuitable temporary accommodation. Many children are living in ‘appalling conditions’ impacting their health and education.

The report sets out recommendations such as requiring councils to check housing is safe to be used as temporary accommodation, and giving more powers to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which investigates complaints about the treatment of people placed in temporary housing.

A Long Road to Recovery report on children’s social care published

A new report from Pro Bono Economics explores the 42% drop in overall local authority spending on early intervention children’s services since 2010.

Spending on young people’s services and children’s centres has each fallen by more than 70%, leading to the loss of as many as 1,000 children’s centres and 750 youth centres across England.

The report is available on the Pro Bono Economics website.

Following the publication of the report, the Children’s Charities Coalition has urged the government to raise investment in children’s social care.