The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson) With
permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement about the
Government's plans for children's social care. I know all Members
here today will agree that caring for vulnerable children is among
the most vital responsibilities of any Government. This Government
treat no issue with more importance than the urgent challenge of
improving children's social care. This is a new era of
child-centred government,...Request free
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The Secretary of State for Education ()
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement
about the Government's plans for children's social care.
I know all Members here today will agree that caring for
vulnerable children is among the most vital responsibilities of
any Government. This Government treat no issue with more
importance than the urgent challenge of improving children's
social care. This is a new era of child-centred government, of
putting children first. That is how we achieve our opportunity
mission, how we break the unfair link between background and
success, and how we support families to achieve and thrive.
Our mission applies to all children, especially the most
vulnerable, those for whom childhood is a storm of instability,
neglect and even violence—denied the foundation of love that is
the first right of any child. Children's social care alone cannot
right all those wrongs. We need a joined-up approach, across
Government and beyond. That is why mission-led government is so
important. But done well, children's social care empowers
families to support their children, putting them back on the path
to happy, healthy lives.
It is with great concern that I come here today to tell Members
what they must already know: the system that the Government have
inherited from Opposition Members is broken and failing far too
many children. It is kept alive by the efforts of our amazing
workforce. I want to thank all those working so hard to keep
children safe, but children's social care is struggling under an
impossible weight.
We have more children in care in this country than ever before.
With more and more money following children into the most
expensive part of the system, resources are sucked out of
preventive services, pushing yet more young people into care. And
so the vicious cycle continues: higher costs but poorer outcomes.
My hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington () rightly identified that
cycle in his review over two years ago: a broken market for care,
vulnerable to the shameful profiteering of too many private
companies. Local government spending on children's social care
has risen by £4.4 billion over the last decade. What do we have
to show for it? A system too busy treating symptoms to tackle
causes, a system that costs more for taxpayers but delivers less
for families, and a system that is failing our children and which
is crying out for change.
Today, the Labour Government begin that change: ambitious,
wide-ranging reform to lift the life chances of our most
vulnerable children. I am pleased to announce the publication of
a policy statement that puts children's social care back in the
service of children and families, breaking the cycle of crisis
intervention. This is the biggest reform of children's social
care in a generation. It starts with the acknowledgement that,
wherever possible, children should remain with their families.
That is where children belong. It is on that foundation of family
love that children can live happy lives. That is why early
intervention, tackling problems before they escalate, holds the
key to brighter futures for our children. We will simplify the
way we fund local government next year, consolidating more than
£400 million of children's social care funding within the local
government finance settlement. With immediate effect, we will
suspend the payment by results aspect of the supporting families
funding. We will renew the way we work with the sector,
co-designing services together to meet the needs of children and
families in their communities.
The Deputy Prime Minister and I are ambitious about reforming how
we work with children and families, from when they encounter
challenges right through to building solutions. We will set out
funding plans for children's social care, and future investment
in preventive services, in the upcoming local government finance
settlement.
All families face challenges at one time or another. I want to
help them to come up with their own solutions, wherever possible,
so we will legislate to embed family group decision-making as an
offer all families can access. Early targeted support minimises
more costly and disruptive intervention later, so it is much
better value for taxpayers. But ultimately, that is not the
point. The most important point is that it is better for
children's lives now and in the future, building that bedrock of
family love and support that we all need.
We know that we must also have strong child protection measures
in place, so today I am setting out plans to require every
council to have multi-agency child safeguarding teams, consulting
schools and teachers to stop children falling through the cracks.
Sometimes, despite the best efforts of all involved, children
cannot remain at home, and our priority then is to support them
to live with kinship carers or in fostering families, connected
to extended family in a stable home. That is why I was not just
pleased but deeply proud when the Government announced the
largest ever national investment in kinship care at last month's
Budget—an investment in the futures of vulnerable children. That
money will trial a new kinship allowance to help family members
and friends to care for vulnerable children. We will also extend
the “virtual school head” programme, placing it on a statutory
footing and championing the education of children in kinship
care.
Even with these changes, however, there will remain instances in
which children must enter the care system, so it is vital that we
fix the broken care market. We know that the quality and safety
of children's homes in England is simply not good enough. Year
after year, the previous Government sat on their hands while
children were let down— their life chances wrecked, their hopes
dashed, and their dignity ignored. I know that many Opposition
Members shared the disappointment I felt as Ministers in that
Government ignored these issues and left them to drift, when they
could have gripped them as this Government do today.
We will act decisively, helping children to remain close to the
people who love them whenever possible, and ending the reckless
profiteering of some providers. We will rebalance and stabilise
the placements market, including by establishing a financial
oversight scheme for the very first time. We will make the market
more transparent, and we will empower local authorities to
collaborate on placements, including through regional care
co-operatives. We will give Ofsted the power to move more quickly
against unregistered care providers and tackle patterns of poor
care.
Those are actions to fix the care market, but Members should be
in no doubt that if companies continue to make extreme profits at
the cost of vulnerable children, I will go further and harder. We
will introduce new powers allowing the Government to directly cap
the level of profit from children's social care placements. At
their best, private providers can help improve the lives of
vulnerable children, but when the focus drifts towards
exploitation in the pursuit of profit, be in no doubt that I will
act.
These are the reforms to deliver the best placements for
children, but the journey does not end there. We must give young
people leaving care the right support as they make the transition
to adult life. I was pleased to co-chair the ministerial care
leaver board alongside the Deputy Prime Minister earlier this
month. We will drive forward action across Government, and we
will expand the staying close programme into a national
entitlement of enhanced practical and emotional support for care
leavers.
It is time to fix the foundations of children's social care,
investing in the groundwork for a stronger sector, and that
includes data. We will deliver on our manifesto commitment to
improve the sharing of information for the benefit of all
children, including those in care. We will change the law in two
ways. First, we will introduce provisions for a “single unique
child identifier” to join up data from different services, which
is a further step towards ensuring that services work harder for
children, parents and professionals. Secondly, we will establish
a new duty, providing a clear legal basis for those working with
children to share information for the purposes of
safeguarding.
We are determined to ensure that children's social care is an
excellent area in which to work. We have published online
resources to improve the health and wellbeing of staff, and we
are joining the national workload action group to cut unnecessary
tasks, freeing up staff to concentrate on children and their
families. While agency workers can help to manage fluctuations in
demand, they are no substitute for a permanent workforce.
Children and families deserve stable professional relationships.
We will therefore limit the use of agency social workers by local
authorities, acting to reverse the alarming increase in their
prevalence.
Every child deserves the best possible start in life, to grow up
in a family filled with love, but not every child has that. There
are still far too many who lack the stability, safety and love
that they need to go on to happy and healthy lives. Our
opportunity mission is for them, we are breaking down barriers
for them, and the announcements that I have brought to the House
today are for them—but we cannot achieve this alone. Keeping
children safe is everyone's business—not merely mine or the
Government's, but that of each of us in this House and all of us
across the country. We need partnership with families, the
workforce, carers, providers, health, police, schools,
colleges—and, yes, with Members right across the House.
Today is the start of much-needed change—change that will fix
children's social care; change that will keep families together
where possible and children safe where necessary; change that
will give each and every child the best start in life. The
children of our great country deserve nothing less. I commend
this statement to the House.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
3.50pm
(Sevenoaks) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her
statement. I welcome the Government's focus today on children's
social care, and on the profiteering issues that we identified
and set up the market intervention advisory group to look at when
we were in government. However, at the heart of the problem is a
lack of high-quality places for looked-after children. That is
what is causing the high cost of placements, as demand is
outstripping supply.
In its 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority did not
recommend a profit cap, because
“the central problem facing the market…is…lack of…capacity.”
The CMA concluded that taking measures to limit the profitability
of providers would
“risk increasing the capacity shortfall.”
While I share the Secretary of State's desire to ensure that we
are getting best value for the taxpayer in this sector, we need
to solve the capacity issue first; otherwise, ironically, she
risks driving up prices and exacerbating the shortage of
places.
The last Government took steps at the Budget in April to address
the capacity side, with £165 million allocated for building and
maintaining placements for looked-after children. I note that in
the most recent Budget, despite the welcome money for kinship
care, there was no more money for increasing the number of places
for looked-after children. That is essential; otherwise, the
strategy on places set out today simply will not work. What plans
has the Secretary of State made to increase the number of places
for looked-after children? How much she will need to fund that?
Did she ask the Treasury for the money at the most recent Budget?
What is her assessment of the impact of the changes announced
today on the number of places available for looked-after
children?
The review carried out by the hon. Member for Whitehaven and
Workington (), commissioned by the
Conservatives in government, found that profit caps would not
work as it would be
“relatively easy for providers to reallocate income and
expenditure to maintain profit levels.”
Does the Secretary of State agree? Is the 8.8% level of profit
that she referred to this morning the maximum level of profit
that she is aiming for? If not, what will it be?
The capacity problem rests both on the availability of places and
on the demand for those places. The Secretary of State has
indicated that she would like to take steps on early
intervention, which is obviously vital. Those were not specified
in her statement, but I hope that she will bring them to the
House at the earliest opportunity, as they are critical to
solving the issue. She said that she wants to scrap payment by
results. Given that that is an early intervention programme, on
the basis of what evidence is she doing so? Does she have an
evaluation of what scrapping payment by results will do?
We welcome much else in the statement, including the regional
care co-operatives, multi-agency teams, and the enhanced role of
Ofsted in the sector. On the latter, is the Secretary of State
making any changes to the failure regime for children's homes and
the regularity of inspection? The Children's Commissioner has
done outstanding work on the increasing use of deprivation of
liberty orders. Will the Secretary of State outline what action
she is taking on that important issue? I am pleased to see the
Labour Government take forward our proposal for a unique child
identifier. When can we expect the Bill creating that to be
introduced?
I want the Government to succeed in this area. Children's social
care is a hidden issue, and getting it right is at the heart of
solving so many problems that this country faces. I hope the
Secretary of State can reassure me and the House that she will do
more to bring forward a greater supply of places for looked-after
children, and that an early intervention system is forthcoming,
because the futures of looked-after children rely on it.
I can say to the right hon. Lady that we will absolutely do more.
We are doing more in four months than the Conservatives did in 14
years. They had 14 years, yet she has the temerity to stand there
and carp about the changes that we are bringing in for some of
the most vulnerable children in our country. Markets were left to
fail, costs were left to soar and, worst of all, children were
failed. We will ensure that there are high quality placements for
our children who need that provision. That is why we set out £90
million to expand capacity and provision for children who need
it.
We have to break this cycle of crisis intervention that is
leading to spiralling costs and poor outcomes and bankrupting
local councils. That is why we will have much more of a focus on
kinship care, foster care and early intervention to support
families. I know that where families are supported at the
earliest possible moment, we can often prevent problems from
escalating, and the right hon. Lady will know that, too. I am
determined that we build a system that gives all our children the
best possible start in life, and that is why I can confirm that
we will give Ofsted the powers that it needs to tackle
unregistered and illegal provision and to ensure that it is
looking at patterns across providers. We will introduce
legislation on everything we have set out today as soon as
parliamentary time allows, but I can say to her that this is
urgent and we will act as swiftly as we can.
On the right hon. Lady's question about the Children's
Commissioner, I welcome the work of the commissioner in this
important area. As on many other issues, she has cast a light on
an important area of policy where we have not acted swiftly and
her party failed to act. I would gently point out to her that the
Children's Commissioner carried out that work on behalf of the
Department for Education. The Conservatives had 14 years to
tackle these issues. I note that the right hon. Lady welcomed
some of the measures that we have set out today, but when we set
out legislation before this House to tackle the shameful failure
that we have inherited, I hope that Conservative Members will
back us and, more importantly, back the vulnerable children in
our country.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Education Committee.
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
I welcome the action that the Government have announced today to
improve children's social care. The Secretary of State will know
that families from the poorest neighbourhoods are 14 times more
likely to be referred to children's social care than those from
the richest areas, and that there is a growing body of evidence
linking child poverty to the rise in children entering the care
system. How will she ensure that the upcoming child poverty
strategy delivers more stability and safety for children and
ensures that fewer families enter the kind of crises that result
in their children being removed from their care?
My hon. Friend has long championed this cause and brings
considerable expertise to the role that she now undertakes as
Chair of the Select Committee. I look forward to discussing these
issues with her and her Committee in due course. She is right to
identify that child poverty is a significant issue in this area.
That is why we got the work of the child poverty taskforce under
way in August; we know that that work is crucial. What she has
set out today is something that I have heard from parents the
length and breadth of the country as part of the work that we are
undertaking. It is important that, alongside tackling child
poverty, we ensure that all families have early support and early
intervention to ensure that they can thrive, and that, as she
says, problems do not escalate in the way that they currently
do.
Mr Speaker
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
(Twickenham) (LD)
The review of children's social care carried out by the hon.
Member for Whitehaven and Workington () in 2022 found that,
without reform, there could be almost 100,000 children in care by
2032, costing an extra £5 billion a year, so it is essential that
we recognise the scale and urgency of this crisis and move
quickly, unlike the previous Conservative Government. Today's
announcements are therefore a welcome step forward.
Tackling profiteering will help not only to address the financial
crisis facing councils, but to deliver better outcomes for our
most vulnerable children and young people. These are children for
whom we in this place all bear a huge responsibility, and it is
simply unacceptable that they have become a cash cow for private
equity companies raking in profits of 28% or more, so could the
Secretary of State spell out when we will see these reforms
implemented, and when she anticipates the backstop taking
effect?
Cracking down on profiteering is only one side of the bargain. To
put provision on a stable and sustainable footing, we must also
ensure that councils can provide these services themselves, where
necessary, so will the Government work to support local
authorities in running children's homes, where they want to do so
and where there is need? Many of these private equity firms are
also profiteering from special schools, and we are starting to
see them in the early years sector, too. Is the Secretary of
State looking at those areas, and will she apply some of today's
announcements to them?
A new focus on family care is very welcome, as early support for
families can keep children out of care who do not need to be
there. Kinship carers are unsung heroes who often step up at a
moment's notice to look after family members. Will the Secretary
of State please commit to moving beyond the very limited pilots
that have been proposed, to a universal allowance for kinship
carers, on a par with that received by foster carers? Will she
also take the opportunity offered by the Employment Rights Bill,
which is currently before the House, to legislate for paid
employment leave for kinship carers? All the evidence points to
that leading to better outcomes—and it would achieve cost savings
immediately, not just in the long term.
The hon. Lady has rightly championed the cause of kinship carers
for many years in this House, and I pay tribute to her for
drawing attention to this crucial area. The measures we set out
in the Budget represent the single biggest investment in kinship
care ever made by a Government. This is an important first step,
but it is not the only action we need to take in this area. I
will, of course, work with her and with Members on both sides of
the House to make sure that kinship carers have all the support
they need.
The hon. Lady is right that, in this House, we all bear a
responsibility to represent the needs of vulnerable children,
whose voices are often not heard in our deliberations. We will
seek to bring forward measures as soon as parliamentary time
allows, because we know that the crisis we face is urgent.
Yes, we will work with councils on the services they can provide,
either directly or by working with charities and others. I have
seen great examples across the country of that already happening.
Councils need the Government to give them further backing to do
this on a bigger scale, and the plans we are setting out today
will provide for precisely that.
Today, I am calling time on excessive profiteering, and if
providers do not respond, we will not hesitate to bring forward
measures to cap their profits. We are looking very closely at
special schools, too.
(Southampton Itchen)
(Lab)
I welcome this statement, which those of us with care experience,
and those of us who have worked in this area, have wanted to see
for years. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is entirely
regrettable that the work of my hon. Friend the Member for
Whitehaven and Workington () was commissioned by the
previous Government and then left on a shelf to gather dust? Will
she reassure everyone working in this area that, under this
Labour Government, every penny will go towards helping young
people to thrive, not merely survive, rather than lining the
pockets of profiteers?
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has consistently shared his
personal experience, and who has demonstrated to so many young
people what can be achieved, even when there are barriers to
overcome. He knows as well as I do that far too many
care-experienced young people in our country lack the support and
backing that they deserve, and we are determined to change that.
He is also right to point to the excellent work of my hon. Friend
the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (). I am delighted to have
been able to set out many developments arising from that crucial
work. There is so much more that we need to do together to put
the rights and needs of vulnerable children at the heart of our
policymaking.
Mr Speaker
I call .
(Beverley and Holderness)
(Con)
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Interruption.] I did not mean to
knock you down a peg, Mr Speaker; that would be very unwise.
I regret the Secretary of State's tone in response to the shadow
Secretary of State, and I hope that, over time, she learns not to
adopt that tone on issues such as this. The shadow Secretary of
State noted that there is a capacity crisis, and the Secretary of
State has said that we need greater early intervention now. Is
the Secretary of State confident that she has the resources to
support local authorities and others in tackling this twin
challenge? Both parts need to be tackled at the same time, which
is a truly serious undertaking.
I am not quite sure how to begin to respond to the frankly
extraordinary first part of the right hon. Gentleman's question.
To take the more serious points he raised, we are determined to
ensure that we have the resources and support in place for the
most vulnerable children in our country. The reason I get so
cross when I hear some of the contributions made by Conservative
Members is that during my time as shadow Secretary of State and
Secretary of State, I have heard directly from far too many
children who have been badly failed by this system. It is
shocking and shameful, and we will change it.
Mrs (Wolverhampton North
East) (Lab)
Years of inaction by previous Conservative Governments have led
to vulnerable children feeling forgotten and councils being
financially crippled. How will my right hon. Friend ensure that
reforms truly prioritise children's wellbeing and tackle
profiteering at their expense?
My hon. Friend brings real expertise to this House from her work
in education. Education is also a crucial area where we need to
work together on safeguarding; school staff, teachers and others
have a role to play in keeping children safe and ensuring that
all children can thrive. The steps that we are setting out today
will make a big change to the life chances and wellbeing of many
children across our country, and I am grateful for her support
for that important work.
(Torbay) (LD)
For far too long, children's services have been a Cinderella
department. I am delighted that the Secretary of State is shining
a light on them and driving a positive way forward for them. We
need to ensure that our communities are kinship and foster
care-friendly. How will the Secretary of State drive that
agenda?
I agree that there is still much more that we need to do to
support kinship carers and foster families; that is why the
measures we set out in the Budget are so important. From speaking
to kinship carers in my constituency on Friday, I know that there
are still too many barriers in place, including differences
between local authorities, issues around access to mental health
support, and the need to do more to support kinship carers in
balancing work and caring responsibilities. I look forward to
working with the hon. Gentleman on those important areas.
(Portsmouth North) (Lab)
The almost 600 kinship carers in Portsmouth North welcome this
Government's prioritisation of kinship care; it is vital to keep
kids with their families. However, not all children can live with
their families, so some live in the care system. Because of the
past 14 years of Conservative Government, life has been too
tough, so will the Secretary of State tell us a little more about
what this Government will do to support those care leavers?
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the fact that, sadly, a move
to a different kind of placement, outside family care, is a
necessary step for some children, for their safety and wellbeing,
and in the interests of their long-term future. We are rolling
out the Staying Close programme nationally to ensure that all
care leavers get the support they deserve. We are also setting
out plans around corporate parenting, to ensure that all of us
fulfil our responsibilities to the children for whom we are
responsible. I was delighted to chair, with the Deputy Prime
Minister, the care leavers ministerial board, because there is
more that all of us, across Government, need to do to ensure that
care-experienced young people have their voices heard, and to
ensure that we take action to address their concerns.
(Bath) (LD)
Five years ago, Bath and North East Somerset council's budget for
children's services was £28 million; this year, it is predicted
to be £40 million. Transport costs, particularly, are spiralling
out of control, as private providers seem to deliberately place
young people out of area. What my council needs, apart from
potential price control, is capital investment, so that it can
rebuild its in-house services. Will the Minister commit to
that?
I agree that costs are spiralling out of control. More action is
necessary to support councils in investing in services and
ensuring provision for children much closer to home. Too many
children are being sent far away from family support networks.
That presents local councils with additional cost pressures, and
pushes many to the point of bankruptcy, as well as denying
children the life chances they deserve.
(Vauxhall and Camberwell
Green) (Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State will be aware that local authorities have
a legal duty to house unintentionally homeless people, including
those in priority need, such as 18 to 19-year-old care leavers
and people with dependent children. At the Housing, Communities
and Local Government Committee, we heard that, shockingly, over
150,000 children are in temporary accommodation in England. Does
the Secretary of State agree that without urgent action on the
housing crisis, we will not see improvements for care-leaving
children?
I agree, and the Deputy Prime Minister is determined to drive
forward change in this area, not just with more homes being built
across our country, including social homes, but by taking action
in the area that my hon. Friend describes, when children are
leaving the care system. I assure her that the Government will
act in those areas.
(North Herefordshire)
(Green)
I warmly welcome today's statement. The Secretary of State is
right that it is long overdue, and that early intervention is
key. Too many children in this country are in care because they
and their families did not get the support and help that they
needed, when they needed it. She referenced the report led by the
hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (), which stated that we
need a revolution in family help, and specifically a £2.6 billion
temporary injection of financial support to make the shift to
prevention. Can she make that commitment?
I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and
Workington will speak for himself on his report. The Government
recognise the need to rebalance the system away from crisis
intervention, and to break the cycle of spending ever more pots
of money on what amounts to a failure within our system. We will
refocus our work on early support for families, and ensure that
there is more support for kinship and fostering families. That is
important, not just given the cost of the increasing number of
interventions; most crucially, it is how we will deliver better
life chances for the most vulnerable children in our country.
(Stoke-on-Trent Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
Having grown up in a kinship care setting, with my grandparents,
I heartily welcome the content of the Command Paper. Had its
provisions been available to my grandparents, I would have had a
very different experience growing up, so I greatly welcome what
the Secretary of State is doing; however, for those young people
who have to enter the care system, it cannot be a one-way
process; ageing out cannot be the only exit. Will she set out a
little more on what the paper will do to help with reunification,
so that young people who go into care can go back to their
parents? I encourage her to look at the work of Pause, a national
charity that is doing so much work with the birth parents of
children who get taken into care, so that they get the help and
support that they need after what can be a very traumatic
experience.
I thank my hon. Friend for speaking about his experiences. He
will know that until quite recently this area was perhaps little
understood. It is so important that people like him are able to
speak openly; it demonstrates bravery and will encourage others
to do the same. I will happily look at the report and the work
that he mentions, and ensure that routes back into family care,
for those children for whom that is possible, are considered in
our ongoing work.
(Carshalton and Wallington)
(LD)
In the London borough of Sutton, we started to in-house some
children's care home provision back in 2020, and we now care for
six children with complex needs. What assessment has the
Department made of the potential scale of local authorities
taking on services directly, if given the right support by the
Government?
Like the hon. Gentleman, I have seen good examples of councils
across the country that have started to take such action, but
they have done so by going against the grain of Government
policy. This time, councils will have the backing of the
Government in making those changes. We will also ensure that they
can take action on a regional basis, work together and
collaborate, so that they can manage placements more effectively.
That way, we will not just bring down costs to the taxpayer,
which are spiralling out of control, but ensure that children can
stay closer to family support networks, which is crucial to their
long-term future.
Ms (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
Having spent 14 years watching children's services struggle in
the way the Secretary of State outlines, with serious case
reviews often being the moment of intervention, I heartily
welcome the emphasis on early intervention, and what she says
about the responsibility that we all have. She will know that
there has been much discussion about the concept of corporate
parenting. What is her thinking on that, and what role does she
see for us as Members of Parliament? At the moment, relationships
across the country are clearly too inconsistent. That is to the
detriment of safeguarding, and indeed of our young people.
My hon. Friend is right that there are many long-standing
challenges in this area. On corporate parenting, today's Command
Paper sets out the steps that we intend to take to bring forward
further plans in this area. I look forward to working with her on
the shape and scale of those plans, because it is essential that
we all take our responsibilities incredibly seriously, as I know
she does.
(Mid Sussex) (LD)
I welcome the Secretary of State's broad commitment to reducing
the number of children who need to go into care. Building on the
comments of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (), I want to emphasise the
work that Pause does with West Sussex county council and 24 other
authorities. Pause has a vision of ensuring that no one goes
through having a child taken into care more than once. However,
more than half of areas have no support available for parents
after a child is removed from their care, which leads to many
being trapped in a cycle of pregnancies, care proceedings and
repeat removals. What assurances can the Secretary of State give
that this valuable work will be more widely rolled out across the
country, and will she meet me and Pause to discuss how that work
can be taken forward?
I am grateful to the hon. Lady, and I am sure that the
Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member
for Lewisham East () would be happy to meet her to
discuss the issue further. She is right to identify the need for
ongoing support for families when a child or children has been
removed. Before coming to this House, I worked with many families
who were in that situation. I saw directly not just how much of a
difference could be made to the lives of those children and
families, but how, when mothers were going through subsequent
pregnancies, that intervention and support could often be crucial
in making sure that the children were able to stay with the
mother. That is sadly not always possible, but much more can be
achieved with the right level of support. I certainly saw some
amazing examples where it was possible to break what had sadly
felt like a cycle.
(Reading Central) (Lab)
I thank all those working so hard to support vulnerable children
in our country, and I thank the Secretary of State for her
statement today and some excellent steps forward. May I ask her
for a little more clarity on the important point she made about
the need for greater co-production with charities and other
agencies?
As we take forward further proposals both for legislation and for
wider change and reform across the sector, we look forward to
working not only with family rights organisations, charities and
others to make sure that they are involved in the design of
services, but with our brilliant and often unsung workforce—as my
hon. Friend identifies—who often do their work behind the scenes
and without the recognition they deserve. Our social work
workforce and others play a crucial role, and we are determined
to do more to support them in their vital endeavours.
(Bicester and Woodstock)
(LD)
I warmly welcome today's statement from the Secretary of State.
As a county councillor in Oxfordshire, the number of children in
our care who are living in unregistered children's homes is of
grave concern to me. Those homes are often overpriced and always
suboptimal for vulnerable children, as well as being strictly
illegal. I heard what the Secretary of State had to say about the
local authority settlement next month. Will she undertake to work
with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor to allocate
some of the capital investment announced in the Budget, so that
local authorities can open new registered children's homes and
provide safer and more affordable accommodation closer to home
for vulnerable young people?
I agree, and I will be working very closely with the Chancellor
and the Deputy Prime Minister in this area. The hon. Gentleman is
right to highlight the increase in unsafe unregistered
placements. That is why we are giving Ofsted further powers to
act and why I set out in the Command Paper that we will make sure
that councils and others have the powers they need to deliver
more placements for children. I encourage him to look closely at
that work; I think he will find much that he can welcome in
it.
Mrs (South Shields) (Lab)
I welcome my right hon. Friend's considerate focus. Children in
care have died in unregulated accommodation, but that did not
stop the last Conservative Government introducing cruel
legislation to make it permissible for councils to place children
in care aged 16 and above into such accommodation—tents,
caravans, bed and breakfasts and houses in multiple occupation,
surrounded by adult strangers and with no continuing care at all.
Please will she overturn that legislation?
I know that my hon. Friend, from her professional expertise
before coming to this House, understands better than most how
important social work, early intervention and support for
families are in this area. She is right to identify that we see
an increasing number of children in unsafe and unregistered
placements. They are illegal to run, but Ofsted found 887
unregistered homes, up from 370 in 2022-23. We will give Ofsted
the powers it needs to tackle unregistered provision. We need to
hit providers who are behaving in this way where it hurts, as the
threat of prosecution clearly is not working.
(Glastonbury and Somerton)
(LD)
Somerset council is facing a £7.5 million overspend on children's
services this financial year, with an increased number of
children coming into care. I welcome the pledge to provide early
interventions, as they provide better outcomes for children while
keeping costs down for councils. Will the Secretary of State
provide more detail on how a joined-up approach will be achieved,
so that local authorities can provide the best possible care for
children?
I am working closely with the Deputy Prime Minister in this
crucial area, and there will be more to say before too long about
the local government finance settlement. As the hon. Member
identifies, it is important that we rebalance the children's
social care system away from crisis intervention and towards more
timely and early support. We know that that is where we make the
biggest difference to children's lives, and that is also what is
driving the cost pressures that, sadly, lots of local authorities
are seeing, as ever increasing numbers of children go through the
children's social care system. We are determined to make progress
and to put more support in place earlier for families.
(Gateshead Central and
Whickham) (Lab)
I wish to associate myself with the comments of the Secretary of
State. While children in care are incredibly important, it is
also important that we do our best for those who are care
experienced. In my constituency, 50% of those who leave care are
not in education, employment or training, as I heard when I
visited Changing Lives at Eslington House in my constituency on
Friday. What more can be done to support care leavers?
My hon. Friend is right to identify that, sadly, for too many
care-experienced young people coming out of the system, their
outcomes are just not good enough and the facts in terms of their
life chances are stark. We are determined to change that. I am
working closely with the Deputy Prime Minister as part of the
care leavers inter-ministerial board, because actions across many
Departments could make a big and meaningful difference to the
life chances of care-experienced young people. As part of that,
it was incredibly powerful to listen to the experiences of two
young people who had just come through the system, and in all our
discussions in this important area we must listen to the
experiences and views of those who have direct lived experience
of how the system has let them down, and what needs to change in
future.
(Honiton and Sidmouth)
(LD)
Devon county council children's services was assessed by Ofsted
in April. It found that the children's front door service was
effective, after previously having been deemed by Ofsted to be
inadequate. When the Secretary of State simplifies and
consolidates the money available through the local government
finance settlement, will she take into account the additional
costs borne by rural local authorities?
We will look at all factors including the one identified by the
hon. Gentleman, as well as at areas of good practice where many
local councils, despite the many difficulties they face, are
taking forward innovative new ways of working, and doing all they
can to support children and families. There is much we can learn
from good examples that exist across the country.
Mr (Chesterfield) (Lab)
In Derbyshire, the Conservative leader of the county council got
in touch with me and other MPs in the previous Parliament to
plead with us to do something about the profiteering taking place
in the private sector. Nothing happened under the last
Government, and we heard from the shadow Secretary of State that
if we do anything to try to curb that profiteering, we will lose
capacity. I agree with the Secretary of State that councils have
a greater role to play. Does she agree that if councils had their
own provision, that would empower them to prevent the
profiteering being carried out by extortionate private
providers?
I agree with my hon. Friend, who is right to identify that there
is support for such measures across political parties. Children
are being let down by our failure, and we must do more to improve
capacity. We will support councils working together to do that. I
have seen great examples of where that has happened, but much
more needs to be done. As he identifies, this is about ensuring
that children get the support they need to thrive, and under this
Government they will have support in that crucial area.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I welcome the Secretary of State's statement. This is incredibly
good news so I thank her very much—I think we all welcome it
across this great United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern
Ireland. The Barnardo's charity in Northern Ireland has indicated
for a long time that it has been concerned about this issue, so
it too welcomes the statement today. We in Northern Ireland have
the highest rate of kinship care, along with Scotland, but a
streamlined process with a decent level of funding would enable
greater buy-in from those who have lots of love but not enough
money. Any increase would also need additional funding for the
devolved regions. Is the Secretary of State able to confirm
that?
I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am visiting Northern Ireland
soon, when I look forward to discussing both that area and wider
issues relating to education with counterparts in Northern
Ireland.
(Warwick and Leamington)
(Lab)
I welcome my right hon. Friend's comments. The more I hear about
this area, the more I think that this Government have inherited a
wild west from the previous Government, so shocking is the
situation in children's social care. Will she agree to meet me to
talk about a particular issue with a foster carer in my
constituency that exemplifies the scale of the problem we
face?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing the House's attention
to this area. I would be more than happy to meet him. He is right
that the situation we have inherited is one where too many
children are being let down and where the quality of provision
for very vulnerable children is just not good enough. I look
forward to working with him to make that change happen.
Mr (Hartlepool) (Lab)
With more than 300 children in Hartlepool in social care, the
council is being slowly bankrupted. The top four private
providers on average are charging £12,000 per child per week.
That is £624,000 a year per child. Does my right hon. Friend
agree that only by capping that outrageous profiteering can we
protect children, but also get value for money for local council
tax payers?
Private providers are making, in some cases, between 20% and 30%
profit. That is way beyond what we would expect in any other
area. Crucially, when we think about where they are making that
profit, it is off the back of the trauma, abuse and sometimes
very difficult early childhood experiences of some of the most
vulnerable children in our country. My hon. Friend is right that
the issue he identifies in Hartlepool is sadly felt right across
the country. He may wish to know that there are now more than
1,500 children in placements that each cost half a million pounds
every single year. We have got to change that.
(Nottingham East) (Lab)
Analysis by the Local Government Association reveals that the top
15 private children's social care providers are making an average
profit of 23%. It is frankly unacceptable that private firms are
profiting at all from vulnerable children, let alone when the
care they provide is so often poor and is funded by public money,
pushing councils to the brink. I commend the Government's plans
to tackle this urgent issue. Will my right hon. Friend also
commit to properly fund not-for-profit and public sector
provision to improve children's social care and to end this
obscene profiteering for good?
It is vital that we drive up standards and quality in children's
social care placements, and we want to make sure that we are
providing support for councils, charities and others to do
precisely that. The highest possible standards and quality of
care are essential for children and young people who have been
through some very traumatic experiences and deserve our full
support. I agree that we must take action on excessive
profiteering. It has been left to drift for far too long, and
this Government will act.
(St Helens North) (Lab)
I warmly welcome this statement, like all colleagues on the
Government Benches and hopefully like colleagues across the whole
House. I particularly welcome the comments on care leavers; it is
important that we do not forget about them. When I became council
leader of St Helens in 2019, services for care leavers were rated
inadequate by Ofsted. I am proud to say that they are now
outstanding. The credit for that goes to Councillor Nova Charlton
and the whole children's services team. The Secretary of State is
more than welcome to visit St Helens to hear about the good work
they do and how they do it. Will she tell me a bit more about
what steps she is taking with colleagues to make sure that local
government has the funding it needs to run these services? It has
to be a whole council effort—if one part fails, it all falls
down.
I commend my hon. Friend and his council on the work they have
undertaken to deliver better outcomes for care-experienced young
people. It is crucial, and I am sure there is much we can learn
from that work. The Under-Secretary of State for Education, my
hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East () will be happy to have a
conversation with him to discuss that further. We will be setting
out further steps to make clear the funding arrangements, but it
is essential that we put more money into children's social care.
We are doing that, and we will set out more in due course through
the local government finance settlement.
(Telford) (Lab)
I welcome the reforming zeal of the Secretary of State in this
area; her work has been outstanding. As somebody who led a
council with a double outstanding accreditation for the past
eight years—all praise goes to council staff for that—may I ask
that we learn from the best within the sector and ensure that
local government can also trigger a review where it sees
profiteering? In one case in Telford, a bill for one placement of
£409,000 was taken almost overnight. May I also give a word of
caution and be assured that this grant will not be like the
public health grant, which was consolidated into the local
government fund and cut and eroded over a number of years?
I join my hon. Friend in praising the work of council staff and
the many councils across our country taking action in this area.
I agree that we can learn a lot from the best examples of support
for care-experienced young people and the overall approach taken
around children's social care. I look forward to working with him
in that area and note the point he raises. When it comes to
ensuring that local councils have a role in the financial
oversight of the system, we will of course take his views into
account. The regime we will set out will allow us to provide much
clearer and greater scrutiny those providers that are, frankly,
profiting shamefully from some of the most vulnerable children in
our country.
(Tamworth) (Lab)
I am pleased to hear the statement on care leavers. Children who
leave care have previously been let down by a system that pretty
much stops support once they leave care. To ensure that
care-experienced young people can make the most of their future,
will the Secretary of State outline the Government's plans to
support care leavers in Tamworth and around the country so that
they can gain the skills and experience they need to thrive?
My hon. Friend is right to identify the urgent need to do more to
support care leavers at the point when they move through the
system and throughout their lives. That is why I am working with
the Deputy Prime Minister and other Government colleagues so that
we all pull together and do much more to deliver better life
chances for care leavers. We will roll out the Staying Close
programme nationally to ensure that all young people leaving care
have the support they need. We are also setting out corporate
parenting proposals to ensure that all of us pull together to
listen to the views and experiences of young people. I am sure
that, like me, she has heard directly from care leavers about how
badly they feel failed by a system that has not properly
reflected their needs and experiences, and it is vital that we
put the needs of care-experienced young people front and centre
in our discussions.
(Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)
I welcome the statement and the robust steps the Government are
taking for our children and young people. I was disappointed to
read a report by Ofsted last week into the special educational
needs and disabilities provision in Derbyshire, which found there
to be “systemic failings” and that the provision was inadequate.
Our children and young people deserve so much better. Has the
Secretary of State made an assessment of how the previous
Government's failure to deal with SEND has fuelled problems in
children's social care? Does she agree that more integration is
needed between education, healthcare, local authorities and
providers, including through integrated care boards and
partnerships, to deliver long-lasting and sustained outcomes for
our young people?
I agree with my hon. Friend: that joint working is important, and
it provides much clearer support for families who often do not
want to have to repeat their experiences time and again to
different sets of professionals and who want better and more
targeted support. I have seen great examples, including in
Lewisham earlier this week, where the pathfinder programme
ensures that all children get the support they need through more
timely intervention and through working closely with families. I
know that Derby city council has done some excellent work in that
area. There is an overlap between children's social care and
SEND, and they have similar challenges. We want to ensure that we
share practice between those two areas where possible.
(West Bromwich) (Lab)
Children in care are some of the most vulnerable in our society,
and many people in Sandwell are worried about children in small
care homes, which often seem to lack oversight and regulation. I
welcome the measures that the Government set out today. Will the
Secretary of State ensure that Ofsted has the powers it needs to
inspect children's social care and ensure that all homes are
suitable and safe places for children to be?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for sharing her and her
constituents' concerns with the House. We will act to ensure that
Ofsted has the powers it needs to tackle unregistered, unsafe and
unsuitable placements and accommodation. Our most vulnerable
children deserve the best possible support, and right now we are
sadly far away from that.
(Whitehaven and
Workington) (Lab)
The outcomes for children and families involved in the children's
social care system are some of the worst in our country. That is
truly a huge social justice issue, so I welcome the leadership
shown by the Secretary of State and her team so soon in the new
Government's time in office. So many of the recommendations came
from the contributions of those with lived experience, whether on
regional care co-operatives, expanding corporate parenting, the
importance of a unique child identifier and the changes to Ofsted
that have been announced. Does the Secretary of State agree that
the contribution made to the review that I led by thousands of
people with lived experience, who are often so unheard and unseen
in society, is validated by today's announcement?
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his tremendous work in this
area. I am delighted that we have been able to act in many of the
areas that he identified as part of his review. He is right to
draw our attention to the thousands of people, including those
with lived experience, who contributed to his vital work. It is
testament to his work and their contributions that the Government
are able to take forward work in so many areas that will make a
significant difference to the lives and experiences of vulnerable
children across our country, from today and over many years to
come.
(Leeds Central and Headingley)
(Lab/Co-op)
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and the
Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for
Lewisham East (), for her recent visit to my
constituency. In its exemplary work, Leeds city council is
currently focusing on small group homes to bring children back to
Leeds from private provision outside the city, which will give
much better outcomes and save significant costs, and on early
help and intervention. The Minister saw all that work when she
was in Leeds. Will the Secretary of State, whose work on regional
care co-operatives I absolutely welcome, clarify further what
support will be available for local authorities to consider
alternative models of care over and above those
co-operatives?
My hon. Friend's local authority has done brilliant work in this
area. We are keen to build on the best examples that already
exist around the country. I know that my hon. Friend the
Under-Secretary was impressed with everything that she saw as
part of that visit. We are determined to ensure that we back
councils and their ability to work regionally to deliver better
placements closer to home, and to bring children back into their
local area wherever possible. My hon. Friend will know, as I do,
that children thrive when they are close to family and support
networks. That allows for much stronger and better life chances
as they move into adulthood. I look forward to working with him
to ensure that councils have the powers to do more. We will set
out more as soon as parliamentary time allows.
(Darlington) (Lab)
It is so refreshing to see a Labour Secretary of State take
action on profiteering in our local authorities. I have been
calling for such action, because in my constituency the average
cost of an independent residential placement has increased by 65%
in the last five years. Despite that, our Labour-led council
continues to fight to give decent and good-quality placements to
all our looked-after children. Does the Secretary of State agree
that tackling the practice of excess profiteering, which was
largely ignored by the previous Government, is exactly what we
were elected to do to get value for taxpayers' money and ensure
that these vital services, which look after our vulnerable
children, deliver the best possible outcomes for children whom we
are determined will succeed?
I am grateful for all my hon. Friend's work in this area. She is
right that councils were left at the mercy of private providers,
often paying extortionate costs for poor-quality provision that
did not deliver safety, dignity and better life chances for our
children. We are determined to turn that around, and I look
forward to working with her to ensure that children across our
country, including those going through the children's social care
system, have their voices heard. Their struggles and challenges
have too long been ignored. Under this Government, action will
follow.
(Calder Valley) (Lab)
In my time as a councillor and corporate parent, nothing was more
distressing than the complex safeguarding issues that we had to
deal with, and nothing more enraging that seeing people profit
from them. That is why Calderdale council did good work to bring
children's homes in house. I hope that the statement means an end
to that profiteering.
We are calling time on the excess profiteering of big private
providers, which are seeing profits of 20% to 30%. If they fail
to act and bring down costs, we will legislate to cap their
costs. This cannot continue; it has been left to drift for far
too long, and local authorities such as my hon. Friend's have
been up against it, often facing an impossible task but doing
great work where they can. We will work with councils, including
on a regional basis, to provide accommodation for children and
young people that is closer to home and of a higher quality, with
better standards, and we will tackle unregistered and illegal
provision.
(Rother Valley) (Lab)
It is brilliant to see a Secretary of State take this issue so
seriously and get a grip on it so early on in her time in
government. Figures published last week show that the number of
children placed far from home increased by 51% over the last
decade between 2014 and 2024. Does the Secretary of State agree
that it is about not only capacity, quality and cost, but the
geography of the placements, to ensure that when children are
placed away from their families, they can stay in touch?
My hon. Friend is right. There are big differences based on
geography. I find it quite astounding that 25% of registered
places are in the north-west of England. That is a staggering
number, and sadly it means that far too many children are moving
far from home, away from family networks and moving school or
education provision. We need to make sure that that changes and
that our most vulnerable children, who have often been through
incredibly traumatic early childhood experiences and exposed to
things that no child should ever see or witness, get the best
possible support and standards. I look forward to working with my
hon. Friend to drive up standards and make sure that every child
in his constituency who needs support through children's social
care has a much better experience and better adult life chances.
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