Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will (a) set a recommended social worker caseload figure and (b) provide funding to reduce the average caseloads of such workers.

Local authorities are best placed to determine appropriate social worker caseload levels, taking into account their particular local needs, circumstances and structures. We are clear, however, that social worker caseloads must be manageable, so that social workers are able to make effective interventions to improve the lives of vulnerable children.

We are supporting local authorities to consider how they can best manage delivery of services so that resources are used effectively, including through our £200 million investment in the Innovation Programme. In addition, the Autumn Budget announced an extra £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. We are also investing £84 million, over five years, in targeted, evidence-based interventions to unlock better work with vulnerable children and their families. This will save money for local authorities and improve the quality of services for our most vulnerable children. We will consider long-term children’s services funding at the forthcoming spending review.