Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Children’s Social Care

Monday 2 March 2020 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Greg Smith asked the Secretary of State about the challenges faced by social workers in rural Buckinghamshire, including long distances traveled for statutory visits and court attendances.
  • Emma Lewell-Buck inquired why a letter signed by 631 experts requesting an independent, whole-system review of children's social care had not received a response.
  • Philip Hollobone requested assurance that the Secretary of State would ensure high-quality services for children in Northamptonshire, where a children's commissioner was appointed to guide the establishment of an independent children's trust.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Greg Smith Con Buckingham
Agriculture & Rural Affairs Children & Families
Context

Social workers in Buckinghamshire travel an exceptionally high number of miles annually for statutory visits and court attendances.

Question

In Buckinghamshire, our hard-working social workers travel around 1 million miles a year to undertake statutory visits and court attendances. That is considerably more than occurs in urban environments, especially as the family court is now out of area. What further steps can my right hon. Friend take to ensure that children's social services are fully supported in rural communities?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson

We have committed to putting an extra £1 billion into children and adults' social care. I would be happy to speak to him about what more we can do to support rural counties and the delivery of these vital services.

Answered
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Q2 Emma Lewell-Buck Lab South Shields
Social Care
Context

A letter signed by 631 experts and the MP was sent to request an independent, whole-system review but has been ignored.

Question

If the Secretary of State really is serious about improving children's social care, can he explain why a letter sent to him in January, which was signed by 631 experts and myself, to request an independent, whole-system review has been completely ignored?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson

I will certainly take up the issue of why that correspondence was not responded to immediately. I am sure that the hon. Lady recognises that it was within our manifesto—we have already announced it—that there will be an independent review looking at the care system for our children, and that is something that she will perhaps welcome.

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Q3 Philip Hollobone Con Kettering
Social Care Children & Families
Context

Children's social care in Northamptonshire had been failing and the Government set up a children's commissioner to guide the service into an independent children's trust.

Question

Children's social care in Northamptonshire had been failing for some time such that the Government set up a children's commissioner to guide the service into an independent children's trust. This is an extremely serious issue for Northamptonshire. Will the Secretary of State ensure that the children's trust has the resources it needs to sort the system out?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson

We will certainly undertake to make that commitment. The challenges in Northamptonshire were grave, and it was right that the Government decided to take the action that they did to ensure that we have the very highest quality of services for all children in the county.

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