Statutory Guidance on Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Looked After Children

- Are more children going into care?

The numbers still seem to be increasing -and just as more of the Care Matters and Children and Young People Act 2008 reforms are coming into play as well. For example, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department of Health have just issued joint statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children, updating the 2002 health guidance that some would say was under-promoted and not used much.

- And it will be used this time?

If the Care Matters momentum is sustained. The England-only guidance is issued under Sections 10 (the duty to co-operate) and 11 (the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child) of the Children Act 2004. It applies to local authorities, primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities. And it covers a wide range of health issues (physical, sexual, emotional and mental health, wellbeing and health promotion) while also referring to health inequalities, tailored services and children's views.