Information Sharing Duty Guidance

Rachel Gordon

October 14, 2026

3 min read

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 introduced significant legislative changes that placed new responsibilities on those with safeguarding obligations. These responsibilities include new information sharing duties which place clear legal expectations on relevant organisations to share information pertaining to safeguarding. Those with a responsibility for safeguarding children must understand their new obligations in order to promote and support the wellbeing of the children in their care. In this article we will outline what the information sharing duty is and explore the main points of the statutory guidance.

To fully understand the scope of the new information sharing duty, it’s advisable to read the Information Sharing Duty statutory guidance. It may also be beneficial to read other key safeguarding documents including Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026.

The information sharing duty is a legal requirement that mandates the sharing of information where it is relevant to safeguarding and promoting a child’s welfare. It also includes sharing information where concerns relate to early help, prevention and unmet needs. Effective information sharing is vital to timely safeguarding. When information is not shared appropriately, practitioners cannot gain a full understanding of a child’s circumstances, identity concerns before they escalate or accurately decide what action is needed to keep them safe. Information sharing enables organisations to holistically assess the needs of a child, including whether they pose a risk to other children.

Previous legislation surrounding information sharing was undeniably complex and the Department for Education (DfE) notes that this left practitioners unsure about when they should share information. This was particularly true where concerns relating to a child’s emerging need rather than present harm was concerned. This led to confusion about whether a specific statutory threshold had to be met before information could be shared.

The new information sharing duty makes it clear that there is no requirement for a child to meet a particular statutory threshold before information can be shared. By removing this threshold the duty seeks to stop children from falling through the cracks. Poor information sharing has been identified as a contributory factor in serious child safeguarding incidents. When there is a delay in information sharing opportunities are missed to identify needs early, provide support and prevent harm from escalating. Subsequently, the information sharing duty places a clear legal expectation on organisations to share information relevant to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The duty also improves clarity, confidence and consistency of information sharing across the system.

The information sharing duty applies to organisations in England within section 16LA of the Children Act 2004, including:

Local authorities
Integrated Care Boards
NHS Trusts
Police
Prisons and probation services
Youth justice services
Youth custody services
Designated childcare or education agencies
GPs
Dentists
Primary care providers

The information sharing duty applies to information that may help another relevant person exercise their functions to safeguard a child. This information may be about a child or another named individual connected to a child, such as a peer or an adult. The information sharing duty applies to children with known needs and those with needs being identified for the first time. It does not replace existing safeguarding procedures. Instead, it clarifies that legislation supports and enables the sharing of information in order to safeguard children. This clarification enables practitioners to share information with confidence and with no concern that the information they wish to share does not meet any statutory thresholds.

The duty to share information with others applies where organisations and practitioners:

Consider that they have relevant information
Receive a request for relevant information from another organisation or practitioner (the requestor)

When the information sharing duty applies, organisations and practitioners must share information with another relevant person, or the requestor, if it is considered that sharing may help the recipient’s relevant functions. These functions may include, assessing need, making a decision, providing support or taking action to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child.

In the past organisations and practitioners had to assess whether disclosing confidential information was legally required or justified enough to override consent, causing delays in the sharing of potentially life-saving information. The new duty creates a legal requirement to share information. As such, the common law duty of confidentiality (CLDoC) does not apply to information shared in compliance with the new duty. This enables confidential information to be shared without consent under the CLDoC if it will help to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child.

When deciding what to share in line with the duty, the DfE advises that organisations, and practitioners acting on their behalf, apply the following tests:

Relevance: Does the information considered for sharing have a bearing on safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare? If information has been requested, is there sufficient context to determine the relevance?

May facilitate: Is the recipient covered by the information sharing duty? Could sharing information reasonably help the recipient to safeguard or promote the welfare of the child, including when the child potentially poses a risk to others, through exercising their relevant functions?

Detriment: Could sharing the information be of greater detriment to the child than not sharing? Are there any mitigating steps that can be taken to reduce risk?

Information must still be shared if raised concerns only relate to:

Not having consent from the child/family to share information
A parent being unhappy that information was shared, or fear of criticism or complaint
A practitioner feeling unsure or uncomfortable
Data protection – information should not usually need to be withheld for data protection purposes as a child’s safety and welfare is a paramount concern

The information sharing duty came into force on 30th September 2026. The new duty only applies to scenarios after this date and organisations are not required to retrospectively apply the duty to information that predates the commencement of the duty. However, they may choose to do so where need is identified or where there are ongoing concerns that have not previously been shared.

The new duty brings about a significant shift in approach to information sharing by placing a child’s safety and wellbeing at the heart of information sharing decisions. Whilst organisations and practitioners should already have practices and policies in place for sharing information, the new duty removes perceived barriers that have historically prevented information from being shared in a timely manner. The new guidance makes clear that information must be shared whenever it may help another organisation to fulfil its safeguarding responsibilities and keep a child safe.