New figures published by Enfield Labour today reveal the soaring numbers of children in care under the last Conservative Government. In the latest figures - the year to 31 March 2024 - there are now 414 looked after children – up 11% in the last five years. The figures come as the new Labour Government announces the biggest reform to children’s social care in a generation including:
· More support for families
· A crackdown on profiteering
· Stronger regulation for better placements for children
Labour is announcing changes that will empower social workers, and all those that work with children, to take action against children’s placements providers that deliver subpar standards of care at sky-high costs to councils and focus the system on early intervention. It comes as local government spending on looked after children has ballooned from £3.1billion in 2009/10 to £7 billion in 2022/23, with social workers all too often burdened by heavy caseloads, struggling to deliver the help that children and families need before problems escalate.
Enfield Labour’s Cllr Ergin Erbil said, “Looked after children in Enfield deserve high quality care – and taxpayers must be given value for money. That’s what these reforms are all about.
“Labour is fixing the foundations of a broken children’s social care system after years of neglect and ballooning costs under the Conservatives. Today, we are spending far too much money on crisis-level intervention, and some of the most vulnerable children are being failed. That has to change and the work of change has begun.
“Labour will crack down on care providers making excessive profit, tackle unregistered and unsafe provision and ensure earlier intervention to keep families together and help
children thrive.”
Across the country, the number of children in care has risen 5% over the last 5 years to 83,632 across England in the year to March 2024. According to analysis by the Local Government Association, there are now over 1,500 children in placements each costing the equivalent of over £0.5 million every year, while the largest 15 private providers
make an average of 23% profit. New rules will require key placements providers - those that provide homes for the most children - to share their finances with the government, allowing profiteering to be challenged. Increasing financial transparency will ensure the providers that have the
biggest impact on the market don’t unexpectedly go under and leave children without a
home.
There will also be a “backstop” law to put a limit on the profit providers can make, that
the government will introduce if providers do not voluntarily put an end to profiteering.
Not-for-profit providers and those backed by social investment are being called on to
come forward to set up homes to strengthen the system.
To protect quality and safety in children’s homes, Ofsted will also be given new powers
to issue civil fines to providers, working more quickly to deter unscrupulous behaviour
than with existing criminal powers.
More widely, the government is beginning the process of rebalancing the whole
children’s social care system in favour of early intervention, giving every family the legal
right to be involved in decisions made about children entering the care system.
Further plans for funding for children’s social care including investment in preventative
services, are set to be laid out in the coming weeks in the upcoming Local Government
Finance Settlement.
Other key measures set to be delivered include:
• New powers for Ofsted to investigate multiple homes being run by the same
company, acting on the recommendations made in response to the vile abuse
uncovered at the Hesley group of children’s homes.
• Delivery of the manifesto commitment to introduce a consistent child identifier,
making sure information can be shared between professionals so they can
intervene before issues escalate.
• The requirement for every council to have ‘multi-agency’ child safeguarding
teams, involving children’s schools and teachers, stopping children from falling
through the cracks.
• The requirement for all local authorities to offer the Staying Close programme – a
package of support which enables care leavers to find and keep
accommodation, alongside access to practical and emotional help, up to the
age of 21, ending the cliff-edge of support many experience at 18.
• A new duty on parents where if their child is subject to a child protection enquiry,
or on a child protection plan, they will need local authority consent to home
educate that child.