Dissent, disputes and complaints

Child protection guidance
South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP)
Cupped hands protecting a child in the middle with parent or guardian on the left and right of the cupped hands.

This could include challenges about the inter-agency process, decision making and outcomes, challenges by children/young people or their parents/carers about the CPPM decisions or complaints about practitioner behaviour.

Local guidelines sets out the mechanisms by which dissent and dispute or complaints will be resolved and decisions approved. The agencies and services involved in child protection work have complaints procedures, which should be followed where there is a complaint about an individual practitioner.

Pending dispute resolution

If actions are required to ensure the child’s immediate safety, they should be prioritised and progressed without delay.  The Chair of the CPPM may decide that:

  • The child’s name should be added to the Child Protection Register
  • The Child Protection Plan should be developed.

Practitioner's issues

When a practitioner wishes to raise an issue about the process, or disagrees with the CPPM decisions, communication and concerns should be channeled through their agency line management.  There should be clearly defined local arrangements for challenging inter-agency CPPM dissent through the use of escalation procedures.

Parent or carer

If a parent/carer wishes to challenge the decisions of the CPPM, they should follow processes defined in local procedures as follows:

If parents/ carers want to appeal child protection decisions they can do so in writing to the Service Manager which should be received within 5 working days. This should be responded to within 21 days.  If they require support to progress this in writing discussion should be held regarding who they wish to support them. Decisions made in the CPPM will remain in place pending resolution of this appeal. 

If the complaint is about a specific practitioner, they should follow the relevant agency’s complaints procedures

Children and young people

Children and young people should have access to guidance that they can understand about how to challenge a decision or make a complaint from any of the practitioners with whom they have contact.