BHR Safeguarding Partnership
Barking and Dagenham, Havering & Redbridge (BHR) Safeguarding Partnership
In response to the Children & Social Work Act 2017 & Working Together (2018) the three Local Authorities, LB Havering, LB Barking & Dagenham and LB Redbridge, the Metropolitan Police East Basic Command Unit (BCU) and North East London (NEL) Clinical Commissioning Group developed a safeguarding partnership across a Barking & Dagenham, Havering, and Redbridge (BHR) footprint. This came into effect in September 2019 in line with legal requirements.
Following review in summer 2021 it was agreed to transfer the statutory responsibility for multi-agency safeguarding arrangements for children back to their local authorities in each of the boroughs. Therefore for local Havering children, this responsibility now lies with the Havering Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSCP) from 1st April 2022. The Statutory Partners are Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, Met Police East BCU, Robert South, Director of Children’s Services, Havering Council, and Korkor Caesar, Associate Director, NEL CCG.
The Barking, Havering and Redbridge (BHR) Safeguarding Partnership will remain in place as a strategic body consisting of senior leaders within each of the key statutory partners (i.e. Local Authority, Police and CCG) for safeguarding children, as identified in the Children and Social Work Act 2017 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.
The Partnership will continue to engage across the wider footprint of the three north-east London Boroughs – Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge working on mutually beneficial areas of quality assurance, learning and support. The work of the Partnership is referenced through updates to the HSCP at each meeting and any issues for escalation identified at the Partnership meetings are escalated back to the HSCP via the Independent Chair, Brian Boxall and Independent Scrutineer, Professor Jenny Pearce.