Children: Social Services

(asked on 23rd May 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that children at risk of harm have adequate access to safe placements.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 24th May 2022

Local authorities have a statutory duty to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care.

The government is supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duty through capital investment. The 2021 Spending Review announced £259 million capital funding to maintain capacity and expand provision in both secure and open children’s homes. This will provide high quality, safe homes for some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

Increasing the capacity of open and secure children’s homes will enable more vulnerable children to get the right care and support at the right time, positively impacting upon their outcomes. It will reduce the number of children placed far from home, improving their life chances and reducing costs to local authorities. It will also support local authorities to develop the provision they need locally that may not be met in the private market. In particular, children with complex needs are often placed in so-called unregulated provision

The first phase of the programme will create new places and support provision in secure children’s homes in all nine regions of England. It will be the first in several phases of capital investment up to 2025, and will also create new ‘step-down’ places to support children to move safely out of secure accommodation and back into the community when they are ready. Further details of the funding can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transformational-investment-in-childrens-social-care-placements.

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