Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions in early intervention funding on levels of demand for (a) child protection services and (b) care placements.

This government recognises that early intervention improves outcomes and reduces overall public spending.

In the 2023/24 financial year, local authorities’ gross expenditure on children and young people's services was £14.8 billion, a 12% increase in cash terms from 2022/23. £8.1 billion was spent on looked-after children (LAC), an increase of nearly 16% from 2022/23. More than 50% of this increase owed to growth in residential care spending, which increased by 24% and accounted for 39% of LAC spend.

Early intervention has been shown to impact spending on LAC by keeping more families together. An evaluation of the Supporting Families programme highlighted a 32% reduction in the number of LAC over 24 months and estimated that every pound spent on the programme generated £2.28 in benefits.

Building on this evidence, the government has provided over £500 million in the 2025/26 financial year for the Families First Partnership programme, rolling out reforms to Family Help, multi-agency child protection, and family group decision making.

The government’s investment in 2025/26 is a significant step in our ambition to rebalance the children’s social care system towards early intervention, enable local authorities to move towards financial sustainability, and deliver improved outcomes. The government will set out funding plans for future years in phase 2 of the spending review on 11 June 2025.