Westminster: Biggest overhaul in a generation to children’s social care

The UK Government will today embark on major reform to end years of neglect of the children’s social care support system – breaking the cycle of late intervention and helping keep families together wherever possible so every child has the opportunity to thrive.

A wide range of new reform measures will be set out in Parliament to deliver better outcomes and a more secure life for children across the country. The government will empower social workers, and all those that work with children, to take action against children’s placements providers that deliver subpar standards of care at sky-high costs to councils and focus the system on early intervention.

It comes as local government spending on looked after children has ballooned from £3.1 billion in 2009/10 to £7 billion in 2022/23, with social workers all too often burdened by heavy caseloads, struggling to deliver the help that children and families need before problems escalate.

Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, said: “Our care system has suffered from years of drift and neglect. It’s bankrupting councils, letting families down, and above all, leaving too many children feeling forgotten, powerless and invisible.

“We want to break down the barriers to opportunity and end the cycle of crisis through ambitious reforms to give vulnerable children the best life chances – because none of us thrive until all of us do.

“We will crack down on care providers making excessive profit, tackle unregistered and unsafe provision and ensure earlier intervention to keep families together and help children to thrive.”

One of the most entrenched challenges facing children and social workers is some private providers, that are siphoning off money that should be going towards vulnerable children, making excessive profits or running unregistered homes that don’t meet the right standards of care. 

According to analysis by the Local Government Association, there are now over 1,500 children in placements each costing the equivalent of over £0.5 million every year, while the largest 15 private providers make an average of 23 per cent profit.

New rules will require key placements providers – those that provide homes for the most children – to share their finances with the government, allowing profiteering to be challenged. Increasing financial transparency will ensure the providers that have the biggest impact on the market don’t unexpectedly go under and leave children without a home.    

There will also be a “backstop” law to put a limit on the profit providers can make, that the government will introduce if providers do not voluntarily put an end to profiteering. 

Not-for-profit providers and those backed by social investment are being called on to come forward to set up homes to strengthen the system. 

To protect quality and safety in children’s homes, Ofsted will also be given new powers to issue civil fines to providers, working more quickly to deter unscrupulous behaviour than with existing criminal powers. 

More widely, the government is beginning the process of rebalancing the whole children’s social care system in favour of early intervention, giving every family the legal right to be involved in decisions made about children entering the care system. 

Further plans for funding for children’s social care including investment in preventative services, are set to be laid out in the coming weeks in the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “It is positive to see the Government building on recent progress following the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, and pursuing an approach rooted in what we know works for children and their families.

“We are particularly pleased to see an ongoing focus on early help and family networks, and a strong commitment to tackling profiteering and other problems in the market for children’s social care placements. 

“Moving forward, progress will be limited by the significant funding and workforce challenges within children’s social care, councils and amongst partners more widely.

“It is vital that the Government uses the forthcoming Spending Review to ensure that all those working to keep children safe and to help them thrive have the resources they need to do that well.”

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “Every child deserves to grow up safe, happy, healthy and engaged in their communities and in their education. With this Bill we have an opportunity to repair how we treat childhood in this country.

“Children are paying the price of a broken social care system that allows profits over protection. They are enduring things no child should ever have to: living in isolation in illegal children’s homes, often at enormous cost, deprived of their liberty without due process, often surrounded by security guards instead of receiving love and care.

“Children in the social care system today are living week to week in limbo. They need action without delay, not plans or strategies, so I welcome the urgency with which this government is setting out plans to tackle some of the most entrenched challenges. There must be no limits on our ambition for these children and I will look forward to working closely with ministers to push for radical reform.”

Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector said: “These new powers will allow Ofsted to do more to make sure all children’s homes are safe and nurturing places, and to combat illegal and poor-quality homes quickly and effectively.

“We welcome these reforms and stand ready to deliver the Government’s new asks as soon as possible.”

Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA, said: “We are pleased to see the government taking this next step towards reforming the children’s social care market, in line with our recommendations.

“Our market study found multiple concerns – including a shortage of appropriate places – which need to be tackled to ensure vulnerable children and young people are getting the homes they need. We will continue to work with the government to make sure the plan delivers longstanding improvements.”

Other key measures set to be announced today include: 

• New powers for Ofsted to investigate multiple homes being run by the same company, acting on the recommendations made in response to the vile abuse uncovered at the Hesley group of children’s homes. 
• Delivery of the manifesto commitment to introduce a consistent child identifier, making sure information can be shared between professionals so they can intervene before issues escalate.  
• The requirement for every council to have ‘multi-agency’ child safeguarding teams, involving children’s schools and teachers, stopping children from falling through the cracks. 
• The requirement for all local authorities to offer the Staying Close programme – a package of support which enables care leavers to find and keep accommodation, alongside access to practical and emotional help, up to the age of 21, ending the cliff-edge of support many experience at 18.  
• A new duty on parents where if their child is subject to a child protection enquiry, or on a child protection plan, they will need local authority consent to home educate that child.

The government will continue to work closely with the sector and local authorities as these changes are introduced to ensure the best possible outcomes for all children and young people, and their families.