What about children's social care?
Published by Professional Social Work magazine, 17 November, 2022
The Chancellor failed to mention children’s social care once in his statement on the day government figures show the number of children in care at a record high.
The omission is even more surprising giving the major focus on the sector this year, including England’s Independent Review of Children’s Social Care which called for a “whole system reset”.
Instead, Jeremy Hunt announced spending rises of £4.7 billion for adult social care and £2.3 billion a year on schools in England.
Steve Crocker, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, said: “The case for investment in children’s services has never been stronger, particularly if we are to achieve the reforms set out in the independent review of children’s social care.”
Crocker said children’s services are seeing rising demand while children are presenting with greater complexity of need.
He added: “More and more families are experiencing hardship, or have reached crisis, and we know that there is a strong correlation between poverty, deprivation and involvement with children’s services.
“The impacts of the pandemic and cost of living crisis are already being felt across wider children’s services, including children’s mental health, early help and social care but we are yet to see a national commitment to address this urgent need.”
Crocker said the system was at risk of becoming a “blue light service” and called for a more ambitious approach to children and families.
“Now more than ever we need to work with children and families who are at risk of poor outcomes at the earliest possible stage, but only with adequate long-term national investment can we continue to provide this vital support.”
A 47-page document published alongside the Chancellor’s statement mentions children’s social care once, but does not state what funding will be made available.
Instead, it says £1.3 billion in 2023-24 and £1.9 billion in 2024-25 will be distributed to local authorities for both adult and children’s social care through the Social Care Grant.
Figures from the Department for Education show the number of looked after children in England rose two per cent this year to 82,170.
The number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children rose 34 per cent on 2012 to 5,570, a significant rise likely to have been fuelled by the war in Ukraine.
Recent years have also seen rising rates of child poverty, poor mental health and emotional issues among children and young people.
England’s review of children’s social care published in May called for a “revolution in family help” backed by £2 billion over the next five years, and £1 billion a year legacy funding thereafter.
A review into the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson recommended establishing investigative multi-agency child protection teams in every local authority in England.
The government has yet to respond with its reform plan.