Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASHs) support professionals to ‘join the dots’ and understand threats so they can take action to prevent them, a Government review has found.
The Home Office report, which was published yesterday, said multi-agency working was key to early and effective identification of risk, improved information sharing, joint decision-making and coordinated action.
However, the document concluded multi-agency approaches do not supersede a single agency’s duty to identify, protect and support a child or vulnerable person.
Crime prevention minister Norman Baker said: ‘This coalition government is determined to tackle child abuse in whatever form it takes and MASHs have a clear role to play in this.
‘This report sets out evidence from a wide range of approaches across hundreds of local authority areas.
‘As a result, local agencies are now better placed than ever before to make informed decisions about how best to ensure children and vulnerable adults are protected from deplorable abuse and exploitation.’
