Using our legal powers

The NSPCC is unique amongst charities in that it has statutory powers to intervene on behalf of children in the same way as the police or local authorities can.

Our 'authorised person status', as it is known, has been in place for more than a century. It was granted by the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act 1904, and re-affirmed by the Children Act 1989.

How we use authorised status

We want to make sure the UK’s child protection system is world class. For that reason we want to work constructively and in partnership with local agencies, reaching out to those who need our help.

Those agencies, like children’s services or the police, can always call on us to give an independent view on how current cases (and sometimes older ones) are being handled.

However, where we think a child’s welfare is not being protected adequately, we can:

• help or challenge local authorities to take action by expressing our concerns directly to them
• review a case where we believe a child should be removed from a harmful situation.

We always aim to work with others more constructively to protect children. But, as a last resort, we will use our authorised status to ask a judge to consider removing a child from a harmful situation.