DfE provides 20% of funding urged by care review in response

Sector bodies have heavily criticised the government’s provision of one-fifth of the resources called for by the care review to reform social care in its response.

The Department for Education has allocated £200m over two years to its children’s social care implementation strategy, which it said would “transform the current care system to focus on more early support for families, reducing the need for crisis response at a later stage”.

However, this compares to the government-commissioned Independent Review of Children’s Social Care’s proposal for £2.6bn to be spent over five years on overhauling the system. The review said that £1bn should be made available over the first two years.

While social work, local government and children’s charity leaders welcomed aspects of the DfE’s response, they joined in criticising the level of resources provided.

Proposals unlikely to deliver necessary funding – BASW

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) England said that the proposals appeared unlikely to deliver the funding needed “to tackle the urgent crisis in children’s social care”.

“While there are some positive measures announced, it falls short of the wide-ranging support vulnerable families need now, while there is scant mention of how to fix the poor working conditions that are driving social workers out of the profession,” it said.

The care review’s biggest proposal was for an investment of £2bn over five years to fund multidisciplinary family help teams across the country, replacing existing targeted early help and children in need services.

The review, led by former Frontline chief Josh MacAlister, said these would give children and families “the support they need, keeping more families together and helping children to thrive”.

In response, the DfE has pledged £45m to test the establishment of family help services in up to 12 areas.

BASW England warned: “This will take time to implement, meanwhile many local authorities will be wondering if they will be left out of this funding cycle and if a postcode lottery will ensue.

Council heads urge resource boost

For the County Councils Network, children’s social care spokesperson Keith Glazier welcomed the support for preventive services and keeping families together in the DfE’s response, as well as separate plans to invest £25m in recruiting and retaining foster carers over the next two years.

However, he added: “The funding made available to delivers these changes falls short of what both the councils and Josh MacAlister argue is required, while the pilots are only taking place in a select few areas at a time when young people across the country cannot afford to wait.

“We understand that the public finances are tight, but we urge government to increase the funding allocated for these reforms in line with the recommended £2.6bn by the end of 2026-27 – investing in children and young people has a significant societal benefit, and will deliver long-term savings.”

The Family Rights Group, a charity for families involved in the social care system, issued a similar message, welcoming the support for family help, as well as plans to increase financial support for kinship carers.

Reforms ‘fall alarmingly short’

However, chief executive Cathy Ashley said: “The reforms and the funding announced today fall alarmingly short of the scale of the crisis that is gripping children’s social care. 

“Year on year, more children are being taken into a social care system marred by inadequate provision which fails too many of society’s most vulnerable young people. Meanwhile, families are not being adequately supported to keep their child safely at home, tearing precious relationships apart.

“The independent review projected that the number of children in care in England will top 100,000 by 2032 [from 82,000 now] without a significant change of course. Today’s announcement does not provide that.”

Children in care and young care leavers’ charity Become also responded similarly.

Care charity ‘extremely disappointed’

“The government has set out an ambitious vision to put love and stability at the heart of children’s social care, but their proposed implementation plan is lacking the urgent action and investment needed to make this vision a reality,” said chief executive Katharine Sacks-Jones.

“They’re effectively putting over 82,000 children in care at the bottom of the pile. After decades of underinvestment, the care system is now in crisis and the £200m  announced today won’t even scratch the surface.

“We are extremely disappointed that the government is choosing to invest so little in our country’s most vulnerable children. With rising poverty leading to even more children entering care over the coming years, pressure and instability within the system will continue to rise at an alarming rate.”

Directors back ‘test and learn’ approach

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services was more positive in its response, and welcomed the DfE’s decision to pilot new initiatives, such as family help, rather than implement them wholesale.

“We are pleased the government has listened to our advice and is taking a ‘test and learn’ approach to implementation,” said ADCS president Steve Crocker.

“It is important for the sector to have the space to explore what works and, crucially, take the time to pause and re-evaluate where things don’t work as intended.”

However, Crocker too raised questions about funding, adding: “The current financial context for local authorities is tough and so any additional investment to fund local pathfinders before wider rollout is welcome, however, the level of funding beyond the next two years remains unclear. Getting change right for children requires proper, equitable resourcing.”

Children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau also issued a positive response to reforms that constituted an “unequivocal political commitment” to addressing deficits in past support for vulnerable children.

Chief executive Anna Feuchtwang also welcomed the DfE’s intention to “rebalance the system towards early support for families so they can overcome problems like mental health, domestic violence and addiction, and provide stable and supportive environments for their children to grow up in.”

Social workers ‘on their knees’

However, she too pressed the case for additional funding, adding: “The cost-of-living crisis is pushing more families into hopeless situations, while inflation eats away at hard-pressed local authority budgets.

“Social workers are on their knees, as the recruitment and retention crisis spreads across the entire children’s workforce. Alongside today’s strategy, the government must introduce an emergency package of measures to stabilise the current system otherwise they risk these plans becoming empty promises.”