Information Sharing Duty - New Statutory Guidance
Information Sharing Duty - Statutory guidance for safeguarding organisations and their practitioners
New Multi-Agency Information Sharing Duty
A new statutory Information Sharing Duty will come into force on 30 September 2026 through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, placing a clear legal responsibility on all relevant safeguarding agencies to share information where it is necessary to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This duty applies to all agencies, organisations delivering services on their behalf (i.e. commissioned services), and includes education and childcare providers, reinforcing that safeguarding is a whole-system responsibility.
This update represents a clear shift from information sharing being concentrated within statutory safeguarding processes to a legal expectation for all staff, at all levels, across all services. This includes voluntary, religious, faith-based, community early help and statutory services and applies to any emerging safeguarding concerns. Information sharing must move from being influenced by confidence, interpretation, and local culture, to a clear and consistent legal requirement for all.
The duty emphasises that information must be shared where it is relevant, necessary and proportionate. The guidance further confirms that consent, is not necessarily required for safeguarding purposes. Whilst data protection legislation continues to apply, the intention is to remove uncertainty and reinforce that the law both enables and requires appropriate information sharing.
What this means for practitioners and partners
For practitioners, this duty changes how information sharing is understood and applied in everyday practice for all services, it is no longer primarily associated with statutory safeguarding intervention but is instead a routine and expected part of working with children and families at all levels of need.
Practitioners across all agencies including social care, police, health, education, early years, and the third sector, community, voluntary, faith and religion sector, will need to take a more proactive approach. They should consider what information others may need to build a fuller understanding of a child’s circumstances. The guidance emphasis a shift from whether information can be shared, to considering when it should be shared to support safeguarding and early intervention in the best interests of the child and family. Information sharing is a two-way process, with all agencies (including statutory and non-statutory) having a responsibility both to share relevant information and to respond appropriately to information received. When sharing information to safeguard children, practitioners should also consider any risks to other family members, i.e survivors of domestic abuse, and take appropriate action to reduce potential harm. For example, following safeguarding procedures, undertaking risk assessments and making referrals to specialist support services where required.
The clarification around consent is particularly significant. Practitioners must ensure that information shared is appropriate and proportionate. However, information sharing should not be delayed or prevented because consent has not been obtained or where safeguarding concerns exist. It is well established that no single service or agency will hold the complete picture, and practitioners are therefore expected to contribute actively to multi-agency understanding and decision-making.
Where a decision is made not to share information, it must be legally defensible, appropriately justified, and clearly recorded, including the rationale for the decision. Failure to share information can, in some circumstances, place children at risk.