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<p>Sections 17 and 47 of the Children Act 1989 have different purposes. Section 17
defines a child as being “in need” if they are unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable
standard of health or development without the provision of services by the local authority,
or their health and development are likely to be impaired (or further impaired), without
the provision of such services, or they are disabled. Under this section, local authorities
are required to provide a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s
needs.</p><p>Section 47 places a duty on local authorities to make enquiries to decide
whether and what action should be taken to safeguard the child from “significant harm”.
This is the point at which compulsory intervention in a child’s life is justified.</p><p>Each
local authority will interpret the definitions at Section 17 and Section 47 and set
local thresholds, agreed by Local Safeguarding Children Boards, through their statutory
function under the Children Act 2004, in discussion with all partners. This function
is set out in Regulation 5 of the Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006,
as follows:</p><p>1(a) developing policies and procedures for safeguarding and promoting
the welfare of children in the area of the authority, including policies and procedures
in relation to:</p><p>(i) the action to be taken where there are concerns about a
child’s safety or welfare, including thresholds for intervention;</p><p>This is also
set out in the <em>Working Together to Safeguard Children</em>, 2015 statutory guidance.
Ofsted looks at thresholds as part of its inspection process and considers whether
the levels set locally are appropriate. It expects good Local Safeguarding Children
Boards to monitor and understand the application of thresholds locally.</p>
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