What you need to know about a Section 47 Investigation (2024)

FAQs

What would prompt a section 47 investigation? ›

When Children's Services, or the police, receive information that a child might have suffered significant harm, or is likely to suffer significant harm, they have a statutory duty to investigate this information. Section 47 enquires can be led by either Children's Services or the police, or by both working together.

While the timescale within which the assessment must be completed is 45 working days the outcome of enquiries under Section 47 must be available in time for an Initial Child Protection Conference which (if required) must be held within 15 working days of the Strategy Discussion/Meeting where the enquiries were ...

The Section 47 Enquiry will result in one of four possible outcomes: Child protection concerns are substantiated and the child(ren) is (are) considered to be suffering, or likely to suffer, Significant Harm, in which case an Initial Child Protection Conference will be convened.

Upon completion of a section 47 report and a child protection plan the parents will be provided with a copy of the plan and the report. If you are not in receipt of either the section 47 report or a child protection plan you can contact your social worker to obtain the same.

If you do want to claim against the social services, it's important that you have evidence showing how their negligent actions have caused you or your children harm. Given the type of damages you're wanting to claim for, potential evidence could include: Photographic evidence of any injuries.

The purpose of section 47 investigations is to decide whether and what type of action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child who is suspected of, or likely to be, suffering significant harm. Referrals may arise from the Police or School which raise concern about the child.

A Section 47 report is usually filed to conduct an urgent investigation and seek immediate protection when a child is in danger and might suffer significant harm.

Emotional abuse and neglect remain top reasons children are within the child protection system.

In the majority of cases, the police can detain someone without charge for 24 hours, but this can be extended to 36 or 96 hours if they're suspected of a serious crime. Once a police investigation has been completed, including interviews, the police have to decide whether to charge the suspect.

Who decides whether a child is suffering from significant harm? ›

Where there are child protection concerns (reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm) local authority social care services must make enquiries and decide if any action must be taken under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989.

What are the common reasons social services would want to remove a child from a family? There are many reasons why a child could be removed from their home and placed outside of family and friends, but common reasons include abuse, neglect, illness, or abandonment.

When this happens, the section is called a section 47/49. This means that the Ministry of Justice have to approve leave and your discharge from hospital. You can be treated without your permission. You could go back to prison if your mental health gets better.

Yes, you can sue social services for distress and potentially other damages too. As well as the figure that's awarded for your psychological distress (which is known as non-material damages), you may also be eligible to receive material damages too.

Any decision to discontinue a Section 47 Enquiry should be taken by the Line Manager in Children's Social Care in consultation with the Police (and where appropriate other involved agencies and in particular the referring agency) after checks have been completed, and it is clear that the criteria for Section 47 Enquiry ...

The judge is likely unless he or she considers that the evidence before the court suggests otherwise to take full account of the recommendations made by children's services and the guardian.

What Social Services Cannot Do. Social services cannot remove your child from your home without an order by the court, your consent, or a Police Protection Order. Additionally, social services cannot decide what will happen to your child or place your child in permanent foster care without a court's decision.

Investigations usually take about six months.

Don't make promises that you can't be sure to keep, e.g. "everything will be all right now". Reassure the child that they did nothing wrong and that you take what is said seriously. Don't promise confidentiality – never agree to keep secrets. You have a duty to report your concerns.

What questions do social services ask? ›

Emotional Neglect: failure to provide the support or affection necessary to a child's psychological and social development. Failure on the part of the parent to provide the praise, nurturance, love, or security essential to the child's development of a sound and healthy personality may constitute emotional neglect.

The different types of 'Significant harm'? Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse and Neglect are all categories of Significant Harm.

If there is a care order then this will last until your child is 18 years old unless it is discharged before then.

To help understand the UN Convention more easily, it is often divided into what are commonly called the '3 Ps': these are the rights to Provision, Protection and Participation.

The key pieces of legislation that you might be aware of are: The Children Act 1989 (as amended). The Children and Social Work Act 2017.

The 5 P's of child protection are: Prevention, Paramountcy, Partnership, Protection and Parental Responsibility. Make your child aware of these P's for an awkward situation they don't understand.

A: The short answer is yes. If you wish to travel out of the country there is no restriction on this. However, should the Police wish to speak to you again you may not be available and this may delay matters for you.

When people are brought in for questioning by police, they are expected to tell the truth. Most people would assume that goes both ways — that the police must also be truthful during interrogations, but the reality is that the police can lie to you during an interrogation, and it is not uncommon for them to do so.

These are: There are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person to be charged has committed the offence. Further evidence can be obtained to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. The seriousness or the circ*mstances of the case justifies the making of an immediate charging decision.

Can I legally stop my ex introducing new partner? ›

Unless there is a court order prohibiting your ex-spouse from exposing the children to a romantic interest, there is little you can do. As the custodial parent, you don't have the right to control your Ex's life.

Controlling Who Is Around Your Child

In general, you do not have the power to dictate which adults are around your child when they are with the other parent. When you have your child, you can decide who is present. You can decide whether to introduce them to a romantic partner or not.

Parental responsibility can only be terminated by the court. This usually only happens if a child is adopted or the father's behaviour warrants the removal of parental responsibility.

previous abuse or neglect of a brother or sister. family history of violence including domestic violence. physical or mental health issues for the parent or caregiver which affects their ability to care for the child or young person in their care.

Where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child/young person is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, a Child Protection Investigation under Article 66 should be completed within 15 working days from the day of referral.

Known key factors within SCRs include parental substance misuse, mental health problems and domestic abuse. To date, there has been no investigation of children who die of a medical cause where there are concerns about child maltreatment.

Social workers assess physical aspects of the home environment. 2. This scale may appear judgmental, but workers necessarily make judgements about the safety, order and cleanliness of the place in which the child lives. The use of a list helps the objectivity of observation.

A Section 47 enquiry means that CSC must carry out an investigation when they have 'reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm'1.

How long should a section 47 investigation take? ›

While the timescale within which the assessment must be completed is 45 working days the outcome of enquiries under Section 47 must be available in time for an Initial Child Protection Conference which (if required) must be held within 15 working days of the Strategy Discussion/Meeting where the enquiries were ...

To prove emotional distress as an injury, you need to be able to demonstrate cause and effect. This may mean documenting changes to your regular daily routines, submitting letters from friends, colleagues and your employer, and providing proof of any medical treatment you've sought for your symptoms.

Mental suffering as an emotional response to an experience that arises from the effect or memory of a particular event, occurrence, pattern of events or condition. Emotional distress can usually be discerned from its symptoms (ex. Anxiety, depression, loss of ability to perform tasks, or physical illness).

If you have been issued a Section 47 Notice this means that we suspect that you are presenting your waste for collection in bags that do not clearly identify your waste carrier and/or do not display the words “commercial” or “trade waste” (e.g. household black rubbish bags), or you are failing to comply with the time ...

The impairment of physical or mental health (including that suffered from seeing or hearing another person suffer ill treatment). The impairment of physical intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development (including that suffered from seeing or hearing another person suffer ill treatment).

Usually a child will require a child protection plan for no longer than two years. By that stage the work undertaken with the family usually means that the child is no longer at risk. In a small number of cases where there is no improvement, it may be necessary for the court to become involved.

This section 47 certificate must be completed by a doctor or other authorised healthcare professional in order to provide non-emergency treatment (such as the COVID-19 vaccine) to an adult who lacks capacity to give or refuse consent.

In general terms, behaviours that constitute harm to a person can be physical, sexual, psychological, financial, or a combination of these.

There are various types of harm that can occur while participating in a study such as: psychological harm, physical harm, legal harm, social harm, and economic harm.