Committee publication · Correspondence · 8 July 2026
Letter from Secretary of State for Education on establishing a Child Protection Authority (CPA) in England dated 07.07.26
From: Education Committee
Summary
Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson informs the Education Committee that the government has published its response to the consultation on establishing a Child Protection Authority (CPA) in England. The CPA will provide national leadership on child protection, bringing together data, expertise, and lived experience to improve inter-agency coordination, identify emerging risks, and ensure lessons from serious incidents drive lasting practice change.
Key findings
- Consultation (Dec 2025–Mar 2026) received 379 responses; broad consensus that current arrangements lack consistency and miss early-intervention opportunities, but strong support for a CPA to address coordination gaps.
- CPA will focus on children suffering or likely to suffer significant harm (per Children Act 1989 definition) from families, peers, community, institutions, or online; will drive accountability and ensure learning from serious incidents is embedded in practice.
- CPA will embed voices of children, young people, families, victims, and survivors in priority-setting and decision-making; will coordinate across social care, health, policing, education, and voluntary sector.
- Government intends to legislate when parliamentary time allows; meantime will develop CPA functions building on Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel work, which will continue until CPA is operational.
- CPA establishment is part of wider reform programme including Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, Crime and Policing Act 2026 (mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse), and Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Bridget Phillipson (Secretary of State for Education), Helen Hayes MP (Chair of Education Select Committee), Department for Education, Child Protection Authority (proposed), Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel
Notable line
“… the current arrangements do not always deliver consistent or effective outcomes.”
Key Quotes
“A clear message emerged from these responses. While there is deep commitment across services, the current arrangements do not always deliver consistent or effective outcomes.”
“The CPA will provide national leadership to improve how child protection works in practice. It will bring together data, professional expertise and lived experience to strengthen understanding of harm, support better decision-making, and improve how agencies work together.”
“A central priority for the CPA will be to ensure that lessons from serious incidents, reviews and research are acted on.”
“… it will place the voices of children, young people, families, victims and survivors at the centre of its work, ensuring their experiences shape priorities, inform decision-making, and drive improvement over time.”
“We are committed to establishing the CPA and are exploring options to legislate when parliamentary time allows.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗