LGA responds to Ombudsman report on councils’ children in care services

“Looking after vulnerable children is a top priority for councils, which work extremely hard to ensure that all children in care get the love and support that they need to flourish. This report provides useful guidance to help councils continuously improve to achieve this goal.”

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Responding to a report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on councils’ children in care services, Cllr Judith Blake, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said:

“Looking after vulnerable children is a top priority for councils, which work extremely hard to ensure that all children in care get the love and support that they need to flourish. This report provides useful guidance to help councils continuously improve to achieve this goal.

“Unfortunately, many councils are being pushed to the brink by unprecedented demand and increasing financial pressures, with an average of 87 children now taken into care every single day.

“There has been a 28 per cent increase in the number of children in care over the last decade, during which time councils lost £15 billion in core government funding. While councils have increased children’s social care budgets at the expense of other services, this has not been able to keep pace with demand.

“While the additional investment announced in the Spending Review was helpful, what is urgently needed is a long-term sustainable funding solution that enables councils to protect children at immediate risk of harm while also supporting early intervention to prevent problems escalating in the first place.”