Welsh government issues guidance on handling cross border child protection cases

New guidance has been issued by the Welsh Government to help local authorities deal with cross-border child protection cases under the 1996 Hague Convention.

Described as a 'key steps guide' for local authorities, health boards and NHS trusts in Wales, the new guidance sets out how councils can ask for help or essential information from authorities outside the UK in a number of situations, including handling cases in which a child from Wales requires support or protection overseas.

The 1996 Hague Convention came into operation in the United Kingdom in November 2012, making the UK one of 54 nations considered to be 'contracting parties" to the convention.

The convention covers a range of civil measures for protection concerning children and sets out the roles played by authorities where the child habitually resides in deciding upon any measures which may be needed to protect them.

The Welsh Government's guidance aims to set out how local authorities, health boards and NHS trusts in Wales should respond to similar requests put to them by authorities abroad, the Welsh Government added.

The guidance is divided into three sections. The first section provides an overview of the cooperation arrangements between contracting states.

Section two provides advice on making requests for information or action to other contracting States and will primarily be of interest to Local Authorities.

While section three provides advice on handling requests from other contracting states and will apply to Local Authorities, Health Boards and NHS Trusts in Wales.

The 1996 Hague Convention requires each contracting state to establish a ‘Central Authority’ to help ensure effective communication between child welfare authorities in contracting states. In the United Kingdom, this means that Wales, Scotland and England must have their own Central Authority.

The Central Authority for England may often be contacted in the first instance by contracting states outside the UK and will then pass on the request to the relevant Central Authority within the UK as necessary, the guidance states.

In some cases, local authorities can deal directly with their counterparts abroad without going through the Central Authority.

The full guidance document can be read here.

Adam Carey