The Local Safeguarding Board for the area where the child normally resides is responsible for initiating a serious case review if the criteria for a review are met. Each of the 4 Cheshire LSCBs convenes its own Serious Case Review process.
When a child dies or is seriously injured outside of the area in which s/he normally resides, the statutory responsibility for conducting the review remains with the LSCB where the child normally resides. In this circumstance, any other LSCB which has an involvement should be included as partners in the planning and completion of the review and be involved in the sharing of learning.
If it is unclear in which local authority area the child normally resided (e.g. cases of shared care arrangements crossing local authority boundaries), the relevant LSCB Chairs should negotiate and agree who will lead the review. If no agreement can be reached, the issue should be referred to the respective Executive Directors for resolution. Timescales should not be allowed to slip while this agreement is being reached – therefore until any dispute is resolved, the case must be treated as the responsibility of the LSCB in whose area the child was last known to have been alive.
If a looked after child dies, the LSCB for the local authority with statutory responsibility for the child has lead responsibility for conducting the review.
