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Other NSCP Responsibilities

The Newcastle Safeguarding Childrens Partnership is involved in safeguarding children in a number of ways, through direct work and supporting the work of other local safeguarding work.

Other Safeguarding Functions

Licensing

The Licensing Act 2003 sets out that any new license application (or variation to an existing license) needs to notify the ‘responsible authority.’ This includes: police, fire authority, planning authority and the Newcastle Safeguarding Children’s Partnership. The NSCP is the ‘Responsible Authority’ in respect of the protection of children from harm, ensuring sufficient measures are in place to promote the licensing objective of ‘protection of children from harm’. This can include:

  • There is a belief alcohol could be sold to customers under the age of 18 years
  • Entertainment is provided which is of an adult and/or sexual nature
  • Any member of staff has previously been convicted of serving alcohol to a minor or is on the sex offender’s register
  • Specific activities for children take place
  • There is a strong element of gambling taking place.

The Gambling Act 2005 promotes safer practice at premises where gambling activities take place Under the legislation, licensees and their operators have a legal responsibility to ‘protect children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling’. The NSCP as the responsible authority, have a statutory responsibility to ensure that licence holders operate in a way that safeguards children and young people. The risks to children will vary, depending upon the type of gambling activities taking place at the premises. Children may be at risk of being:

  • exposed to information or advertisements encouraging them to gamble
  • allowed or invited to gamble or bet in a commercial setting
  • financially exploited
  • allowed to purchase and consume alcohol.

Organisations with safeguarding provision, such as children’s homes and domestic abuse refuges are required to seek information about any safeguarding risks that might be known to relate to their specific locality. The Partnership does not hold locality risk assessments but it has created an enquiry form for requests – .Locality Risk Assessment Request Form.

On receipt of a completed enquiry form the Partnership will share the request for information with a range of partners and collate any information before responding to the original request on their behalf. We will aim to respond within 28 days from receipt of the original enquiry.