Part 1: Children Chapter 2: Safeguarding of children Section 21: Combining safeguarding partner areas and delegating functions
This section adds a new section 16J into the Children Act 2004. References to subsections below are to subsections in that new section.
	Subsection (1) enables the safeguarding partners for two or more local authority areas in England to agree that their areas are treated as a single area for the purposes of sections 16E to 16I and subsections (3) to (5) of this section.
	Subsection (2) provides that references in sections 16E to 16I and subsections (3) to (5) of this section to a ‘local authority area’ are to be read in accordance with any such agreement under subsection (1) of this section.
	Subsection (3) provides that where safeguarding partners for two or more local authority areas have agreed their areas are to be treated as a single area for the purposes of sections 16E to 16I and subsections (3) to (5) of this section, those authorities may arrange for one of them to carry out functions under sections 16E to 16I on behalf of the other.
	Subsection (4) allows clinical commissioning groups, where one clinical commissioning group is a safeguarding partner for the same local authority area as another clinical commissioning group, to arrange for one of them to carry out functions under sections 16E to 16I on behalf of the other.
	Subsection (5) allows chief officers of police, where one chief officer is a safeguarding partner for the same local authority area as another chief officer, to arrange for one of them to carry out functions under sections 16E to 16I on behalf of the other.