Children’s Services under pressure

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to give evidence to the House of Commons Education Select Committee on the pressures facing local authorities’ children’s services. I did so in my role as Children’s Services spokesperson for the County Councils Network (CCN), though there was quite a bit of reference in the discussion to our experience in Kent. I gave evidence along with John Pearce, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (and Director of Children’s Services at Durham County Council) and Stuart Ashley, Director of Children’s Services at Hampshire County Council, who gave evidence remotely. 

In the hearing, I set out the pressures experienced by councils which have seen expenditure at CCN members almost double over the last decade. There has been an increase in the number of children in care (though in Kent our numbers, excluding asylum seeking children, have been fairly steady) but the bigger effect has been from rising costs. There has been a shift from councils’ own fostering arrangements to independent fostering agencies, from fostering to residential provision, and a big rise in very expensive placements of young people with very severe needs that are not being met elsewhere.

The well-received Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, chaired by Josh MacAlister, reported in May 2022 proposing major reforms to address these challenges. The White Paper issued by government in response, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ sets a good overall policy direction, but does not commit the funding  needed to deliver these changes as a rapid pace. Addressing these challenges will remain a matter of vital importance for Kent County Council and other local authorities, and I was glad to be able to have the chance to make the case. 

You can find the meeting on the parliamentary channel here.