Briefings and responses

Helping children and young people to fulfil their potential is a key ambition of all councils, but our children’s services are under increasing pressure.

Analysis of a recent survey conducted by the LGA among local leaders on public health delivered by their local authority showed that the top priority for public health is to give children and young people the best start in life.

Research commissioned by the LGA reveals that the skills gap is worsening. By 2024 there will be more than four million too few high-skilled people to take up available jobs, two million too many with intermediate skills and more than six million too many low-skilled.

Schools should also be given greater certainty of future funding, to help them better plan for the spending pressures they face. Three-year budgets should replace annual budgets.

This briefing sets out the LGA’s key messages on the subject and our analysis of council revenue account budgets.

The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced significant reforms to the support provided by councils and other agencies to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).

We remain concerned that the introduction of the National Funding Formula, combined with changes to High Needs Funding, will exacerbate existing shortfalls in funding to support children and young people with SEND. We want to see funding for High Needs increased to meet sharply increasing demand for SEND support.

Making sure all children and young people have the bright future they deserve is a key ambition of every council.

The increase in care applications highlighted by the Care Crisis review is alarming. However, it must be set within the wider context of rising demand and pressure across the children’s social care system, which illustrates the growing number of children and families who now rely on state support.

Local government has a key role to play in protecting children and young people from involvement in, and the impact of, organised crime.