Privacy Notice for the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

On this page

Privacy Notice for the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub

Purpose for processing your information

The Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) is made up of representatives from Children’s Social care co-located with professionals from the Met Police and the NHS. The MASH also has virtual links with other partner agencies such as Education, Housing, Probation, the Youth Offending Team and the UK Boarder Agency. If there are any other agencies working with a family, for example Domestic Violence Services, Alcohol and Drug Services, or another relevant agency the MASH may contact these agencies for information.

The purpose of the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) is to improve the quality of information sharing between professionals in order to make timely and informed decisions about risk based on accurate and up to date information. The MASH sits separate but alongside the Front Door services in each respective Local Authority. The 'Front Door' refers to the separate teams that each Local Authority has to receive referrals when there are worries about a child. The MASH is able to provide a brief risk assessment and recommendation to the front door services in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster to assist in improving the quality of safeguarding decisions for children and their families in order to provide them with the most appropriate support and services as soon as possible.

The MASH processes personal and sensitive information in relation to Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) data collection, recording and sharing in order to:

  • identify areas where development / different approach is required
  • find and implement risk assessed improvements
  • streamline data collection and sharing amongst key stakeholders of MASE

This includes the Multi Agency Sexual Exploitation (MASE) Panel which is a multiagency, cross borough collaboration between Westminster City Council (WCC), The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) and Police, to capture and tackle child sexual exploitation (CSE) and safeguard children who are at risk of it. 

We may collect information from the following agencies either by email, face to face meetings and within electronic forms as below

Personal demographic information, for example your name, address, gender, DOB, ethnicity, relationships may be collected.

MASH may request multiagency information from relevant agencies, for example, Health, Education, Police, Probation, The Youth Offending Team, the UK Boarder Agency, and any relevant agency known to be working with the family who will provide information regarding a child/parent/carer relevant to safeguarding. This information is used for MASH risk assessment purposes only and is not to be used for subsequent assessments outside the MASH. Not all agencies are contacted, each situation is considered individually, and only relevant and proportionate checks are undertaken. Some of the agencies we may contact are listed below:

Health

We may collect information from your GP or any other health organizations, examples include Health Visiting, School Nursing and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team relating to your child’s health. Only relevant information will be shared as a way of understanding whether an offer of support to you or your family is required.

Education

Your child’s school may be contacted and information about your child’s education may be obtained. Examples of this may be their school attendance, academic achievement and whether there are any concerns about their wellbeing at school. Only relevant information about your child will be shared as a way of understanding whether an offer of support to you and your family needs to occur.

Police

We may request information from the Police when making our enquiries. Police will check whether individuals in a family have come to their notice in the past and will share relevant information with Children’s Services as a way of understanding whether an offer of support to you and your family needs to occur. 

Probation

We may request information from Probation if there is reason to believe that they may be supporting you or your family. If an individual is known to probation, we will ask why probation is involved, what support they are providing and whether they believe there to be any risks posed to children by the individual known to them. Only relevant information will be shared as a way of understanding your family’s circumstances and whether additional support is needed.

Youth Offending Team (YOT)

We may request information from the Youth Offending Team if there is reason to believe that they are supporting your family. If a young person is known to the YOT, we will ask why they are involved, what support they are providing and if they believe there to be any risks posed to the young person or to other members of the family. Only relevant information will be shared as a way of understanding your family circumstances and whether additional support is needed.

UK Boarder Agency (UKBA)

We may request information from the UKBA if we have reason to believe that you or family have a pending application with the Home Office and it is relevant for Children’s services to have this information to better understand your family’s circumstances and whether an offer of support to you and your family needs to occur.

Who the information is shared with

The nature of the information that will be shared will often fall below a statutory threshold of S.47 (child protection investigation) or even S.17 Children Act 1989 (Child in Need). If they do fall within these sections of the 1989 Act, then these will be the main legal gateway. However, in addition the London Child Protection Procedures provide guidance and a legal gateway to share without agreement/consent under ‘legal obligation’ or public task.

Sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004 place obligations upon the police, local authorities, NHS bodies and others to co-operate with other relevant partners in promoting the welfare of children and also ensuring that their functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This piece of legislation gives the statutory power to share information for the purposes of this agreement.

The MASH brings together all of the information received in a brief risk assessment, analysis and recommendation about what happens next.  The MASH may recommend that no further action is taken or may signpost you to community supports. If further social work support is required, the risk assessment, analysis and recommendations are shared with the relevant Front Door Teams in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and / or Westminster. The 'Front Door' refers to the separate teams that each Local Authority has to receive referrals when there are worries about a child.   

As outlined above we may share information with some of the following agencies:

  • GP and other health providers 
  • Police
  • School
  • Probation
  • Other local authorities
  • Youth Offending Teams
  • UK Border Agencies

The information provided by partner agencies is generally a brief snapshot of the current situation and if social work assessments are required, it is expected that updating information is obtained first hand by the assessing social worker. The information provided by MASH partners is for immediate risk assessment purposes only and is not used for any subsequent assessments outside the MASH process.

The information that MASH collects is shared with Front Door Teams in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster.

How long do we keep your information?

We will only retain your personal information in accordance with the formalised Council retention schedule to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Once your personal information is no longer required it will be securely deleted.

We may also anonymize some personal data you provide to us to ensure that you cannot be identified and use this data to allow the Council to effectively target and plan the provision of services.

Your rights and access to your information

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. 

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. Data must be processed lawfully and fairly in a transparent manner.

The new Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA’18) also gives you additional rights that refer to how the council holds and uses your information.

Consequently, under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

  • withdraw consent and the right to object and restrict further processing of your data; however, this may affect service delivery to you
  • request to have your data deleted where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing and provided that there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it
  • request your data to be rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete
  • have your data transferred or copied should you move to another authority
  • not be subject to automated decision-making including profiling

Information about how to submit a Subject Access Request can be found on the Subject Access Requests page.   

Please visit our web pages for further details on how the council complies with the new DPA’18 .

If you have any concerns

Please contact us if you would like to know more about the information we hold about you and how we use it please contact the Front Door Service in the Borough where you reside.

You have a right to complain to us if you think we have not complied with our obligation for handling your personal information; please visit/contact:

If you are not satisfied with the Council’s response you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You can report a concern on the ICO website.

Changes in your circumstances

You must notify us immediately if there are any changes in your circumstances and personal details so we can maintain an accurate and up to date record of your information.

Last updated: 29 November 2019