Underage sex guidelines are 'a mess'

Speaking at a Labour Party conference event organised by sexual health charity Brook, Williams called on the government to publish clear guidance about how sexual health and child protection services work together. He said: "I think the law and guidelines are a mess."

Current government guidance stops short of telling local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) whether they must share information about sexually active under-13s. Although services are under no legal obligation to report these young people to child protection, more than a third of LSCBs have an automatic referral policy.

Williams, who stepped down from his post this week, blamed the Department of Health for its "lack of courage" and called on it to stop local services reporting under-13s to child protection services, unless they are at risk. He said doing so breaks the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by taking away their right to confidentiality. He also said practitioners who automatically refer are more interested in covering their own backs than the young person's welfare.