Part 1: Children Chapter 2: Safeguarding of children Section 17: Local child safeguarding practice reviews
This section adds a new section 16F into the Children Act 2004. References to subsections below are to subsections in that new section.
	Subsection (1) sets out the requirement on local safeguarding partners to:
identify serious child safeguarding cases which raise issues of importance to the area, and
where they consider it appropriate, to arrange for those cases to be reviewed under their supervision.
	Subsection (2) explains that the purpose of such reviews is to identify any improvements that should be made by persons in the area to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
	Subsection (3) specifies the actions the safeguarding partners must take when they arrange for a case to be carried out under their supervision. These are to:
ensure that the reviewer provides a report on the outcome of the review;
ensure that the reviewer (i) makes satisfactory progress and (ii) that the report is of satisfactory quality;
provide the report to the Secretary of State and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
	Subsection (4) specifies that the safeguarding partners must publish the report, unless they consider it inappropriate to do so.
	Subsection (5) specifies that if the safeguarding partners consider it inappropriate to publish the report, they must publish any information relating to the improvements that should be made following the review that they consider it appropriate to publish.
	Subsection (6) allows the Secretary of State to make regulations about various issues relating to local child safeguarding practice reviews. These may include:
the criteria to be taken into account by the safeguarding partners in determining which serious child safeguarding cases raise issues of importance in relation to the area;
the appointment or removal of a reviewer by the safeguarding partners, including provision for a reviewer to be appointed by the safeguarding partners from a list provided by the Secretary of State;
the time when a report should be provided to the Secretary of State or the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, or published;
the procedure for a review;
the form and content of a report.
	Subsection (7) specifies the meaning of the term ‘reviewer’ in this section.