Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy of children’s social services departments’ budgets and (b) impact of the Stable Home, Built on Love strategy on those budgets.

Local authorities spent £11.9 billion on children and young people’s services in the 2021/22 financial year. This spend has increased by 32% from £9 billion in 2015/16.

In the 2023/24 financial year, councils will have access to £59.7 billion core spending power for their services, including children’s services. This is a 9.4% increase in cash terms on 2022/23 and includes an additional £1.3 billion, as set out in the Autumn Statement, into the Social Care Grant, further to that agreed at Spending Review 2021. This means £3.85 billion will be distributed via the Social Care Grant, available for adults’ and children’s social care in 2023/24.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has announced £200 million of additional investment to implement the reforms and build the evidence for future roll-out as set out in ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’.

The department will assess any new burdens that would impact local authorities due to the reforms and will continue to work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and HM Treasury ahead of the next Spending Review.