Changes to safeguarding legislation would mean practitioners and agencies have a duty to share information where there are safeguarding concerns.
Proposed amendments to the Safeguarding Act 2018 aim to reduce the risk of serious harm to children or vulnerable adults by permitting information sharing without concern for breaching data protection laws.
The Safeguarding (Amendment) Bill 2025 has been submitted to the House of Keys for first reading today (June 24).
Changes to Safeguarding
The proposed changes would ensure professionals working in all agencies and sectors can be confident and proactive about sharing information to reduce the risk of harm or abuse to children and vulnerable adults.
Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Ashford MHK said: “The Safeguarding (Amendment) Bill 2025 would strengthen legislation to allay fears of safeguarding practitioners about sharing information.
“It means the duty to share information would not stand in the way of the need to promote the welfare and protect the safety of children or adults.
“By taking action earlier and collaborating more effectively, we can make it easier to keep children and vulnerable adults safe from serious harm, and reduce the number of safeguarding interventions to help create a safer environment for everyone.”
Factors in Sharing
Complicating factors in sharing information across multi-agency partners when there are safeguarding concerns has been recognised as a barrier to safeguarding vulnerable people.
Findings from Serious Case Management Reviews, and from surveys of safeguarding practitioners in 2022 and 2024, show that fear and misunderstanding of data protection legislation has prevented practitioners and professionals from sharing information in an appropriate and timely way.
The Safeguarding (Amendment) Bill 2025 also proposes a change to the mechanism for amending the membership of the Safeguarding Board Isle of Man, and improved clarity on the role of the independent chair.
7 Comments