Commentary on Sections Schedule 2:  Director of children’s services: consequential amendments Section 20: Joint area reviews
119.The purpose of this section is to make provision for joint area reviews of children's services (as defined in section 23(3)) to be carried out in the area of each children’s services authority or the areas of particular children’s services authorities.
120.Subsection (1) provides that the Secretary of State can request the inspectorates and commissions to draw up a timetable for joint area reviews for his approval. Subsection (1)(a)(i) allows the request to include every children’s services authority, depending which authority is being reviewed; subsection (1)(a)(ii) allows the request to cover some but not all of the children’s services authorities. Subsection (1)(b) enables the Secretary of State to request two or more of the inspectorates to conduct a review of particular children's services in an area he specifies. Where the Secretary of State makes such a request the inspectorates in question are obliged to conduct the review.
121.Subsection (2) enables two or more of the inspectorates to conduct a review of a particular local authority's area on their own initiative.
122.Subsection (3) provides that the purpose of the review is to evaluate the extent to which, taken together, the children's services being reviewed improve the well-being of children and relevant young persons. The review will, in particular, consider the quality of children's services and how the bodies which provide those services work together.
123.Subsections (5) and (6) provides that any review must be conducted in accordance with arrangements made by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools ('Chief Inspector') and before making those arrangements he must consult the inspectorates as he considers appropriate.
124.Subsection (7) provides that the Chief Inspector's annual report under section 2 (7)(a) of the School Inspections Act 1996 must include an account of reviews carried out under this section.
125.Subsection (8) enables the Secretary of State to make regulations in relation to reviews under this section. This may include making provision to require the persons or bodies inspected to produce information for the purposes of a review, or to authorise entry to premises for those conducting reviews and provision creating criminal offences to underpin these obligations. By virtue of subsections (9) and (10) provision can be made by applying existing provisions giving the inspectorates powers to conduct assessments for the purpose of reviews under section 20. 'Assessment' for the purposes of the section is defined in section 23(2) (see below). Regulations may also impose requirements as to the making of a report on each review under this section and for specified persons to make written statements of the action they propose to take in light of the report and the period within which such action must or may be taken.