Who's on track at the safeguarding boards?

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They were designed to be the vehicle to move from a more narrow focus on child protection to a broader safeguarding agenda, drawing in a range of new partner agencies. But have local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) proved themselves to be the effective successors to area child protection committees?
The government's verdict after visiting eight LSCBs and consulting statutory partners for its review was that "some are doing well and grasping their agenda" but others are making less progress on the prevention and promotional activity. The review says that statutory partners, such as the police, the local NHS and children's services, are "generally represented on, and showing commitment to, their LSCBs".
But some LSCBs are "finding it difficult to secure the full engagement of partners leading, in a few cases, to statutory partners not attending meetings". Other partners, although present, have "limited understanding about their role". And the report finds "little evidence" of strategic health authorities' involvement at all - possibly as a result of their substantial restructuring.
The review team acknowledges that the resources available to LSCBs "varies substantially between and within regions", and that too much time is spent agreeing budgets. Dr Vic Tuck, development officer for the Warwickshire safeguarding children board, says it would have been "helpful if the government had prepared a formula rather than leaving it to local negotiation". He adds that without a formula, LSCBs have found it hard to encourage a financial commitment.
Barnet in north London was one of the first to set up its LSCB and claims a "longstanding record of success in gaining attendance from relevant partners across multi-agency partnerships at a level which is both senior and strategic".