Bridget Phillipson to overhaul social care as North East sees 7% growth in vulnerable children
by Owen Younger · ChronicleLiveEducation Secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to overhaul social care in the wake of figures which show the North East has seen 7% growth in the number of vulnerable children. The number of children who are looked after in the region has increased from 5,720 to 6,110 in four years.
The government is looking to break the cycle of late intervention and help keep families together wherever possible, and a wide range of new reform measures will be set out in Parliament to deliver these outcomes. Social workers, and all those who work with children, will be empowered to take action against providers that deliver sub-par standards of care at high costs to councils.
Social workers are often burdened by heavy caseloads, and they are struggling to deliver the help that children and families need before problems escalate further. Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson said: "Our care system has suffered from years of drift and neglect. It’s bankrupting councils, letting families down, and above all, leaving too many children feeling forgotten, powerless and invisible.
"We want to break down the barriers to opportunity and end the cycle of crisis through ambitious reforms to give vulnerable children the best life chances – because none of us thrive until all of us do. We 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 to thrive."
Local Government Association analysis has revealed that there are over 1,500 children in placements, each costing the equivalent of over half a million every year, with the largest private providers making an average of 23% profit.
New rules will require these providers to share their finances with the government, with increased financial transparency ensuring that the providers that have the biggest impact on the market don’t unexpectedly go under and leave children in vulnerable situations.
There will be a limit on the profit providers can make, which the government will introduce if providers do not put an end to profiteering themselves. Non-profit providers are being called on to come forward and set up homes, in order to strengthen the system.
Ofsted will also be given new powers to issue civil fines to providers, and the government is beginning the process of rebalancing the children’s social care system in favour of early intervention, with every family set to be given the legal right to be involved in decisions. Further plans will be laid out in the coming weeks to expand early family help, which would in turn reduce the number of children who need to enter the care system in the first place.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza added: "Every child deserves to grow up safe, happy, healthy and engaged in their communities and in their education. With this Bill we have an opportunity to repair how we treat childhood in this country.
"Children are paying the price of a broken social care system that allows profits over protection. They are enduring things no child should ever have to, and are often surrounded by security guards instead of receiving love and care.
"Children in the social care system today are living week to week in limbo. They need action without delay, not plans or strategies, so I welcome the urgency with which this government is setting out plans to tackle some of the most entrenched challenges.
"There must be no limits on our ambition for these children and I will look forward to working closely with ministers to push for radical reform."
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