Commentary on Sections Section 130 – Duty to report children at risk
372.Section 130 requires a ‘relevant partner’ of a local authority (a youth offending team or a relevant partner as defined in section 162) to inform the authority if they suspect that a child in its area is a child at risk (or if the child is in the area of another local authority, to inform that other authority).
373.A child at risk is one who is experiencing or is at risk of abuse, neglect or other kinds of harm, and has care and support needs. “Abuse”, “harm” and “neglect” are defined in section 197(1) (interpretation), and for the meaning of “care and support” see section 4. Section 130 also requires a local authority to inform another local authority (in Wales or in England) if a child they suspect to be at risk is living or moving to the area of that other authority.
374.This is, in part, a restatement of the duty in paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989.