Working together - information sharing

Knowing when and how to share information isn't always easy, but it is important to get it right. Children, young people and their families need to feel reassured that their confidentiality is respected. In most cases practitioners will only share information about them with their consent but there may be circumstances when this needs to be overridden. Cross-government guidance has been published to reassure practitioners about:

• When, how and why to share information legally and professionally
• Knowing how to access support and guidance

The key principles of information sharing that practitioners should follow are:

• Is there a legitimate purpose to share the information?
• Does the information enable a person to be identified?
• Is the information confidential?
• If so, is there consent to share?
• Is there a statutory duty or court order to share the information?
• If consent is refused or there are good reasons not to seek consent, is there a sufficient public interest to share information?
• If the decision is to share, is the right information being shared in the right way?
• Has the decision been properly recorded?