Commentary on Sections Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs)
59.All local authorities are required to appoint IROs, whose functions include:
	participating in meetings to review care plans;
	monitoring the performance of the authority’s functions in respect of the review; and
	referring a case to an officer of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), or in Wales, a Welsh family proceedings officer, if they consider it appropriate to do so.
60.The Review of Children’s Cases (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2004 set out the IRO’s additional responsibilities which include ensuring that:
	the views of children and young people are understood and taken into account in care planning;
	the persons responsible for implementing any decision taken in consequence of the review are identified; and
	any failure to review the case or to take proper steps to implement review recommendations is brought to the attention of persons at an appropriate level of seniority within the responsible authority.