Information sharing

Sharing relevant information is an essential part of protecting children from harm. Practitioners and managers in statutory services and the voluntary sector should all understand when and how they may share information. Practitioners must be supported and guided in working within and applying the law through organisational procedures and supervisory processes Renfrewshire’s GIRFEC Multi Agency Operational Guidance gives clear guidance for all agencies on information sharing Social Work specific guidance on information sharing can be found here.

Where there is a child protection concern, relevant information should be shared with Police or Social Work without delay, provided it is necessary, proportionate and lawful to do so. The lawful basis for sharing information should be identified and recorded. A summary of what constitutes a lawful basis, and what you need to consider in trying to identify the appropriate lawful bases for sharing can be found at the end of this section. Agency data protection leads should be able to advise where doubt about the appropriate lawful basis exists.

Relying on ‘consent’ as the lawful basis is not appropriate if, for example, refusal to give consent would prejudice criminal investigation or might lead to serious harm to the child. Furthermore, due to the power imbalance between a child or families and the authorities, it would be difficult to demonstrate that consent was freely given. In matters of child protection, it is therefore likely that reliance on consent would be the exception and not the rule.