Other provisions relating to children
The Act extends the range of protections afforded to those who have made a protected disclosure – commonly referred to as whistle blowers. Currently, employment law protects employees in children’s social care (among other sectors) from discrimination by their employers. The Act extends these protections by conferring a regulation-making power on the Secretary of State to secure that an applicant for a job in children’s social care who has previously made a protected disclosure cannot be discriminated against in recruitment decisions.
	The Secretary of State currently has powers under the Education Act 1996 to intervene where a local authority is not performing its social care functions to an adequate standard. The Act extends the Government’s current powers to intervene where local authorities are underperforming to Combined Authorities constituted under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.