Placement with Parents

The Placement with Parents (PWP) requests

• The PWP request form

(PWP) Regulations requests from Social Services where temporary contact with a child(ren) in care is being sought from parents or persons with previous parental responsibility.

Guidance and information on application for disclosure of information for Placement with Parents requests;

• What this allows you to request/apply for
• Exclusions and limitations (includes who can apply)
• Information on where else to go for connected matters
• Guidance on the disclosure process
• Contacting us

What this allows you to request / apply for

This guidance sets out the process for applicants to apply for information required for Placement with Parents requests.  

The circumstances under which you can apply for information:

Please only submit a PWP request where consideration is being given to:

1. placing the child back in the day-to-day care of their parent/guardian, from whose care they were removed, on a permanent basis.
2. placing the child where they spend more than 23 hours in the care of their parent for contact purposes.
3. placing the child with parents/guardian for short stay holidays
4. allowing the child to remain with their parent(s) whilst an assessment is completed, in circumstances where care proceedings are initiated, and an Interim Care Order has been obtained.

What you will be entitled to receive:

1. We will provide summarised details for the last 2 years of any domestic incidents or incidents of a safeguarding nature plus all MOPI1 offences and incidents of a child protection concern.
2. PNC print of convictions.

Exclusions and limitations (includes who can apply)

Requests can only be submitted by Local Authorities.

We do NOT deal with requests where the young person is:

1. remanded to the care of the local authority/accommodated
2. subject of an emergency protection order
3. those being adopted or fostered
4. placements with any other relatives or friends.
5. being placed in the care of a person, other than the parent/guardian from whom they had been removed.
6. aged 16 years or over.

Planned Placements:

Before a child is placed back into the care of a parent/guardian, consultations with key partners need to occur to seek their views, this includes the Police by way of a PWP request. Therefore, if the placement is planned, but there is a failure to submit a PWP request prior to the placement commencing, a PWP cannot be submitted retrospectively. Under these circumstances the request will be rejected.

Unplanned Placements:

These can occur where a child goes missing from care and returns to stay with the parent/guardian, from which they were removed. In this situation the unplanned placement can be approved by Social Services, provided that certain safeguarding considerations/ requirements are met. Thereafter, the full requirements of the procedure for planned placements must be completed within 6 weeks of the placement. This includes the requirement to obtain Police disclosure. Therefore, if a PWP request is submitted outside of this 6-week period, it will be rejected.

Information on where else to go for connected matters

PWP requests are sometimes submitted to the ADT when this isn’t the correct disclosure method to be used. There are inherent dangers in using the wrong disclosure process, as the information being provided will vary depending on the request type. Therefore, the information being provided to you may be insufficient for the intended safeguarding purpose.

Data Barring Service – If you are undertaking a Viability Assessment, then you will need to make an application to the Data Barring Service (DBS) for disclosure. Failing to do so may risk the safety of the child, as the information given for a PWP request does not include information held by Police forces other than Devon & Cornwall Police.

For further information regarding DBS checks, please go to: Disclosure and Barring Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Guidance on the disclosure process

What we need from you:

1. Completed Placement with Parents (PWP) Form
2. Consent form signed by the subject of the request.
3. Consent form(s) signed by all persons living in the household over the age of 16 years.

If any of the above requirements aren’t fulfilled, your request will be rejected.

The disclosure process:

1. On receipt of the completed PWP form and relevant consents, we will commence our research of the adults in the home address.
2. Our response, including any PNC prints for the subjects will be sent to you via secure email within 7 days.
3. Please note that delays may occur where the subjects are linked to any ongoing criminal investigations, as consent for disclosure will need to be sought from the Officer in Charge of the investigation.
4. Once disclosure has been made our file will be closed. If you do require any clarification in respect of a disclosure, please ensure that you quote the unique reference that will be detailed in our response letter.

Contacting us

Email the Disclosure team / post any PWP requests to:

Alliance Disclosure Team
Devonport Police Office
Fore Street
Devonport
Plymouth
PL1 4DW

Note: Devon & Cornwall will be unable to provide you with information contained on police systems over the telephone or by email prior to completion of your request.