Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Children’s Services

Monday 27 February 2023 · 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 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • We spend close to 11 billion on children's services, helping vulnerable children.
  • Minister met Devon council leader and chief executive to stress importance of service improvement.
  • Reforms include a new national framework and examination of the agency cap.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Selaine Saxby
Children & Families Local Government
Context

Local councils face challenges in providing effective children's services, prompting the question about Departmental support.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to support local councils in delivering children's services?

Answer from Claire Coutinho

We spend close to £11 billion on children's services, helping some of our most vulnerable children through challenging times. In addition, we recently set out an ambitious package of reforms, the “Stable Homes, Built on Love” strategy, backed by £200 million, and our improvement and intervention programme is working, with 58% of local authorities now rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted, compared with 36% in 2017.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q2 Selaine Saxby
Children & Families
Context

Devon's children's services face specific issues that require a tailored approach considering the county's urban and rural differences.

Question

Given the issues surrounding Devon's children's services, is it possible to look for a granular solution that recognises the differences between the more urban south and the rural north of the county; one in which more localised solutions such as the northern opportunity area can be considered, as well as expediting the Government's promised funding safety valve?

Answer from Claire Coutinho

I thank my hon. Friend, who has raised this issue consistently on behalf of her constituents. It is important that we see an improvement in children's services in Devon, and I recently met the council leader and the chief executive to stress how important that is to us. Nothing is off the table, and I reassure my hon. Friend that the safety valve case remains open and still under discussion.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timeline or concrete actions for expediting the funding safety valve were not provided

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q3 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
Children & Families
Context

Representatives of cross-borough constituencies face significant challenges as they have to deal with the differences between local authorities, impacting children's life chances.

Question

I represent a cross-borough constituency, so unfortunately I have to see two of everything, deal with two of everything, and experience two of everything. The differences between the children's services of my two local authorities could not be more stark. I appreciate that the Minister has said that children's services have improved, but how do we get those councils that are stuck in a rut to improve far more quickly, so that children in both parts of my constituency have the best life chances?

Answer from Claire Coutinho

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. That is exactly what our reforms are hoping to do. We have set out things such as a new national framework and are looking at things like the agency cap. [Interruption.] Somebody has just mentioned our record; as I have just said, in recent years we have managed to increase the number of local authorities rated as good or outstanding from 36% to 58%, and we will continue to do everything we can to improve that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific plans for faster improvement were not detailed beyond general statements about reforms in progress

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email