Children’s Social Care

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement about the Government’s plans for children’s social care.

I know all Members here today will agree that caring for vulnerable children is among the most vital responsibilities of any Government. This Government treat no issue with more importance than the urgent challenge of improving children’s social care. This is a new era of child-centred government, of putting children first. That is how we achieve our opportunity mission, how we break the unfair link between background and success, and how we support families to achieve and thrive.

Our mission applies to all children, especially the most vulnerable, those for whom childhood is a storm of instability, neglect and even violence—denied the foundation of love that is the first right of any child. Children’s social care alone cannot right all those wrongs. We need a joined-up approach, across Government and beyond. That is why mission-led government is so important. But done well, children’s social care empowers families to support their children, putting them back on the path to happy, healthy lives.

It is with great concern that I come here today to tell Members what they must already know: the system that the Government have inherited from Opposition Members is broken and failing far too many children. It is kept alive by the efforts of our amazing workforce. I want to thank all those working so hard to keep children safe, but children’s social care is struggling under an impossible weight.

We have more children in care in this country than ever before. With more and more money following children into the most expensive part of the system, resources are sucked out of preventive services, pushing yet more young people into care. And so the vicious cycle continues: higher costs but poorer outcomes. My hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) rightly identified that cycle in his review over two years ago: a broken market for care, vulnerable to the shameful profiteering of too many private companies. Local government spending on children’s social care has risen by £4.4 billion over the last decade. What do we have to show for it? A system too busy treating symptoms to tackle causes, a system that costs more for taxpayers but delivers less for families, and a system that is failing our children and which is crying out for change.

Today, the Labour Government begin that change: ambitious, wide-ranging reform to lift the life chances of our most vulnerable children. I am pleased to announce the publication of a policy statement that puts children’s social care back in the service of children and families, breaking the cycle of crisis intervention. This is the biggest reform of children’s social care in a generation. It starts with the acknowledgement that, wherever possible, children should remain with their families. That is where children belong. It is on that foundation of family love that children can live happy lives. That is why early intervention, tackling problems before they escalate, holds the key to brighter futures for our children. We will simplify the way we fund local government next year, consolidating more than £400 million of children’s social care funding within the local government finance settlement. With immediate effect, we will suspend the payment by results aspect of the supporting families funding. We will renew the way we work with the sector, co-designing services together to meet the needs of children and families in their communities.

The Deputy Prime Minister and I are ambitious about reforming how we work with children and families, from when they encounter challenges right through to building solutions. We will set out funding plans for children’s social care, and future investment in preventive services, in the upcoming local government finance settlement.

All families face challenges at one time or another. I want to help them to come up with their own solutions, wherever possible, so we will legislate to embed family group decision-making as an offer all families can access. Early targeted support minimises more costly and disruptive intervention later, so it is much better value for taxpayers. But ultimately, that is not the point. The most important point is that it is better for children’s lives now and in the future, building that bedrock of family love and support that we all need.

We know that we must also have strong child protection measures in place, so today I am setting out plans to require every council to have multi-agency child safeguarding teams, consulting schools and teachers to stop children falling through the cracks. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of all involved, children cannot remain at home, and our priority then is to support them to live with kinship carers or in fostering families, connected to extended family in a stable home. That is why I was not just pleased but deeply proud when the Government announced the largest ever national investment in kinship care at last month’s Budget—an investment in the futures of vulnerable children. That money will trial a new kinship allowance to help family members and friends to care for vulnerable children. We will also extend the “virtual school head” programme, placing it on a statutory footing and championing the education of children in kinship care.

Even with these changes, however, there will remain instances in which children must enter the care system, so it is vital that we fix the broken care market. We know that the quality and safety of children’s homes in England is simply not good enough. Year after year, the previous Government sat on their hands while children were let down— their life chances wrecked, their hopes dashed, and their dignity ignored. I know that many Opposition Members shared the disappointment I felt as Ministers in that Government ignored these issues and left them to drift, when they could have gripped them as this Government do today.

We will act decisively, helping children to remain close to the people who love them whenever possible, and ending the reckless profiteering of some providers. We will rebalance and stabilise the placements market, including by establishing a financial oversight scheme for the very first time. We will make the market more transparent, and we will empower local authorities to collaborate on placements, including through regional care co-operatives. We will give Ofsted the power to move more quickly against unregistered care providers and tackle patterns of poor care.

Those are actions to fix the care market, but Members should be in no doubt that if companies continue to make extreme profits at the cost of vulnerable children, I will go further and harder. We will introduce new powers allowing the Government to directly cap the level of profit from children’s social care placements. At their best, private providers can help improve the lives of vulnerable children, but when the focus drifts towards exploitation in the pursuit of profit, be in no doubt that I will act.

These are the reforms to deliver the best placements for children, but the journey does not end there. We must give young people leaving care the right support as they make the transition to adult life. I was pleased to co-chair the ministerial care leaver board alongside the Deputy Prime Minister earlier this month. We will drive forward action across Government, and we will expand the staying close programme into a national entitlement of enhanced practical and emotional support for care leavers.

It is time to fix the foundations of children’s social care, investing in the groundwork for a stronger sector, and that includes data. We will deliver on our manifesto commitment to improve the sharing of information for the benefit of all children, including those in care. We will change the law in two ways. First, we will introduce provisions for a “single unique child identifier” to join up data from different services, which is a further step towards ensuring that services work harder for children, parents and professionals. Secondly, we will establish a new duty, providing a clear legal basis for those working with children to share information for the purposes of safeguarding.

We are determined to ensure that children’s social care is an excellent area in which to work. We have published online resources to improve the health and wellbeing of staff, and we are joining the national workload action group to cut unnecessary tasks, freeing up staff to concentrate on children and their families. While agency workers can help to manage fluctuations in demand, they are no substitute for a permanent workforce. Children and families deserve stable professional relationships. We will therefore limit the use of agency social workers by local authorities, acting to reverse the alarming increase in their prevalence.

Every child deserves the best possible start in life, to grow up in a family filled with love, but not every child has that. There are still far too many who lack the stability, safety and love that they need to go on to happy and healthy lives. Our opportunity mission is for them, we are breaking down barriers for them, and the announcements that I have brought to the House today are for them—but we cannot achieve this alone. Keeping children safe is everyone’s business—not merely mine or the Government’s, but that of each of us in this House and all of us across the country. We need partnership with families, the workforce, carers, providers, health, police, schools, colleges—and, yes, with Members right across the House.

Today is the start of much-needed change—change that will fix children’s social care; change that will keep families together where possible and children safe where necessary; change that will give each and every child the best start in life. The children of our great country deserve nothing less. I commend this statement to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Laura Trott (Sevenoaks) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement. I welcome the Government’s focus today on children’s social care, and on the profiteering issues that we identified and set up the market intervention advisory group to look at when we were in government. However, at the heart of the problem is a lack of high-quality places for looked-after children. That is what is causing the high cost of placements, as demand is outstripping supply.

In its 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority did not recommend a profit cap, because

“the central problem facing the market…is…lack of…capacity.”

The CMA concluded that taking measures to limit the profitability of providers would

“risk increasing the capacity shortfall.”

While I share the Secretary of State’s desire to ensure that we are getting best value for the taxpayer in this sector, we need to solve the capacity issue first; otherwise, ironically, she risks driving up prices and exacerbating the shortage of places.

The last Government took steps at the Budget in April to address the capacity side, with £165 million allocated for building and maintaining placements for looked-after children. I note that in the most recent Budget, despite the welcome money for kinship care, there was no more money for increasing the number of places for looked-after children. That is essential; otherwise, the strategy on places set out today simply will not work. What plans has the Secretary of State made to increase the number of places for looked-after children? How much she will need to fund that? Did she ask the Treasury for the money at the most recent Budget? What is her assessment of the impact of the changes announced today on the number of places available for looked-after children?

The review carried out by the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), commissioned by the Conservatives in government, found that profit caps would not work as it would be

“relatively easy for providers to reallocate income and expenditure to maintain profit levels.”

Does the Secretary of State agree? Is the 8.8% level of profit that she referred to this morning the maximum level of profit that she is aiming for? If not, what will it be?

The capacity problem rests both on the availability of places and on the demand for those places. The Secretary of State has indicated that she would like to take steps on early intervention, which is obviously vital. Those were not specified in her statement, but I hope that she will bring them to the House at the earliest opportunity, as they are critical to solving the issue. She said that she wants to scrap payment by results. Given that that is an early intervention programme, on the basis of what evidence is she doing so? Does she have an evaluation of what scrapping payment by results will do?

We welcome much else in the statement, including the regional care co-operatives, multi-agency teams, and the enhanced role of Ofsted in the sector. On the latter, is the Secretary of State making any changes to the failure regime for children’s homes and the regularity of inspection? The Children’s Commissioner has done outstanding work on the increasing use of deprivation of liberty orders. Will the Secretary of State outline what action she is taking on that important issue? I am pleased to see the Labour Government take forward our proposal for a unique child identifier. When can we expect the Bill creating that to be introduced?

I want the Government to succeed in this area. Children’s social care is a hidden issue, and getting it right is at the heart of solving so many problems that this country faces. I hope the Secretary of State can reassure me and the House that she will do more to bring forward a greater supply of places for looked-after children, and that an early intervention system is forthcoming, because the futures of looked-after children rely on it.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I can say to the right hon. Lady that we will absolutely do more. We are doing more in four months than the Conservatives did in 14 years. They had 14 years, yet she has the temerity to stand there and carp about the changes that we are bringing in for some of the most vulnerable children in our country. Markets were left to fail, costs were left to soar and, worst of all, children were failed. We will ensure that there are high quality placements for our children who need that provision. That is why we set out £90 million to expand capacity and provision for children who need it.

We have to break this cycle of crisis intervention that is leading to spiralling costs and poor outcomes and bankrupting local councils. That is why we will have much more of a focus on kinship care, foster care and early intervention to support families. I know that where families are supported at the earliest possible moment, we can often prevent problems from escalating, and the right hon. Lady will know that, too. I am determined that we build a system that gives all our children the best possible start in life, and that is why I can confirm that we will give Ofsted the powers that it needs to tackle unregistered and illegal provision and to ensure that it is looking at patterns across providers. We will introduce legislation on everything we have set out today as soon as parliamentary time allows, but I can say to her that this is urgent and we will act as swiftly as we can.

On the right hon. Lady’s question about the Children’s Commissioner, I welcome the work of the commissioner in this important area. As on many other issues, she has cast a light on an important area of policy where we have not acted swiftly and her party failed to act. I would gently point out to her that the Children’s Commissioner carried out that work on behalf of the Department for Education. The Conservatives had 14 years to tackle these issues. I note that the right hon. Lady welcomed some of the measures that we have set out today, but when we set out legislation before this House to tackle the shameful failure that we have inherited, I hope that Conservative Members will back us and, more importantly, back the vulnerable children in our country.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

I welcome the action that the Government have announced today to improve children’s social care. The Secretary of State will know that families from the poorest neighbourhoods are 14 times more likely to be referred to children’s social care than those from the richest areas, and that there is a growing body of evidence linking child poverty to the rise in children entering the care system. How will she ensure that the upcoming child poverty strategy delivers more stability and safety for children and ensures that fewer families enter the kind of crises that result in their children being removed from their care?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend has long championed this cause and brings considerable expertise to the role that she now undertakes as Chair of the Select Committee. I look forward to discussing these issues with her and her Committee in due course. She is right to identify that child poverty is a significant issue in this area. That is why we got the work of the child poverty taskforce under way in August; we know that that work is crucial. What she has set out today is something that I have heard from parents the length and breadth of the country as part of the work that we are undertaking. It is important that, alongside tackling child poverty, we ensure that all families have early support and early intervention to ensure that they can thrive, and that, as she says, problems do not escalate in the way that they currently do.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

The review of children’s social care carried out by the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) in 2022 found that, without reform, there could be almost 100,000 children in care by 2032, costing an extra £5 billion a year, so it is essential that we recognise the scale and urgency of this crisis and move quickly, unlike the previous Conservative Government. Today’s announcements are therefore a welcome step forward.

Tackling profiteering will help not only to address the financial crisis facing councils, but to deliver better outcomes for our most vulnerable children and young people. These are children for whom we in this place all bear a huge responsibility, and it is simply unacceptable that they have become a cash cow for private equity companies raking in profits of 28% or more, so could the Secretary of State spell out when we will see these reforms implemented, and when she anticipates the backstop taking effect?

Cracking down on profiteering is only one side of the bargain. To put provision on a stable and sustainable footing, we must also ensure that councils can provide these services themselves, where necessary, so will the Government work to support local authorities in running children’s homes, where they want to do so and where there is need? Many of these private equity firms are also profiteering from special schools, and we are starting to see them in the early years sector, too. Is the Secretary of State looking at those areas, and will she apply some of today’s announcements to them?

A new focus on family care is very welcome, as early support for families can keep children out of care who do not need to be there. Kinship carers are unsung heroes who often step up at a moment’s notice to look after family members. Will the Secretary of State please commit to moving beyond the very limited pilots that have been proposed, to a universal allowance for kinship carers, on a par with that received by foster carers? Will she also take the opportunity offered by the Employment Rights Bill, which is currently before the House, to legislate for paid employment leave for kinship carers? All the evidence points to that leading to better outcomes—and it would achieve cost savings immediately, not just in the long term.

[Bridget Phillipson]

The hon. Lady has rightly championed the cause of kinship carers for many years in this House, and I pay tribute to her for drawing attention to this crucial area. The measures we set out in the Budget represent the single biggest investment in kinship care ever made by a Government. This is an important first step, but it is not the only action we need to take in this area. I will, of course, work with her and with Members on both sides of the House to make sure that kinship carers have all the support they need.

The hon. Lady is right that, in this House, we all bear a responsibility to represent the needs of vulnerable children, whose voices are often not heard in our deliberations. We will seek to bring forward measures as soon as parliamentary time allows, because we know that the crisis we face is urgent.

Yes, we will work with councils on the services they can provide, either directly or by working with charities and others. I have seen great examples across the country of that already happening. Councils need the Government to give them further backing to do this on a bigger scale, and the plans we are setting out today will provide for precisely that.

Today, I am calling time on excessive profiteering, and if providers do not respond, we will not hesitate to bring forward measures to cap their profits. We are looking very closely at special schools, too.

[Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen) (Lab)]

I welcome this statement, which those of us with care experience, and those of us who have worked in this area, have wanted to see for years. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is entirely regrettable that the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) was commissioned by the previous Government and then left on a shelf to gather dust? Will she reassure everyone working in this area that, under this Labour Government, every penny will go towards helping young people to thrive, not merely survive, rather than lining the pockets of profiteers?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has consistently shared his personal experience, and who has demonstrated to so many young people what can be achieved, even when there are barriers to overcome. He knows as well as I do that far too many care-experienced young people in our country lack the support and backing that they deserve, and we are determined to change that. He is also right to point to the excellent work of my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister). I am delighted to have been able to set out many developments arising from that crucial work. There is so much more that we need to do together to put the rights and needs of vulnerable children at the heart of our policymaking.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Graham Stuart.

[Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Interruption.] I did not mean to knock you down a peg, Mr Speaker; that would be very unwise.

I regret the Secretary of State’s tone in response to the shadow Secretary of State, and I hope that, over time, she learns not to adopt that tone on issues such as this. The shadow Secretary of State noted that there is a capacity crisis, and the Secretary of State has said that we need greater early intervention now. Is the Secretary of State confident that she has the resources to support local authorities and others in tackling this twin challenge? Both parts need to be tackled at the same time, which is a truly serious undertaking.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am not quite sure how to begin to respond to the frankly extraordinary first part of the right hon. Gentleman’s question. To take the more serious points he raised, we are determined to ensure that we have the resources and support in place for the most vulnerable children in our country. The reason I get so cross when I hear some of the contributions made by Conservative Members is that during my time as shadow Secretary of State and Secretary of State, I have heard directly from far too many children who have been badly failed by this system. It is shocking and shameful, and we will change it.

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Years of inaction by previous Conservative Governments have led to vulnerable children feeling forgotten and councils being financially crippled. How will my right hon. Friend ensure that reforms truly prioritise children’s wellbeing and tackle profiteering at their expense?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend brings real expertise to this House from her work in education. Education is also a crucial area where we need to work together on safeguarding; school staff, teachers and others have a role to play in keeping children safe and ensuring that all children can thrive. The steps that we are setting out today will make a big change to the life chances and wellbeing of many children across our country, and I am grateful for her support for that important work.

[Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)]

For far too long, children’s services have been a Cinderella department. I am delighted that the Secretary of State is shining a light on them and driving a positive way forward for them. We need to ensure that our communities are kinship and foster care-friendly. How will the Secretary of State drive that agenda?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree that there is still much more that we need to do to support kinship carers and foster families; that is why the measures we set out in the Budget are so important. From speaking to kinship carers in my constituency on Friday, I know that there are still too many barriers in place, including differences between local authorities, issues around access to mental health support, and the need to do more to support kinship carers in balancing work and caring responsibilities. I look forward to working with the hon. Gentleman on those important areas.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

The almost 600 kinship carers in Portsmouth North welcome this Government’s prioritisation of kinship care; it is vital to keep kids with their families. However, not all children can live with their families, so some live in the care system. Because of the past 14 years of Conservative Government, life has been too tough, so will the Secretary of State tell us a little more about what this Government will do to support those care leavers?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the fact that, sadly, a move to a different kind of placement, outside family care, is a necessary step for some children, for their safety and wellbeing, and in the interests of their long-term future. We are rolling out the Staying Close programme nationally to ensure that all care leavers get the support they deserve. We are also setting out plans around corporate parenting, to ensure that all of us fulfil our responsibilities to the children for whom we are responsible. I was delighted to chair, with the Deputy Prime Minister, the care leavers ministerial board, because there is more that all of us, across Government, need to do to ensure that care-experienced young people have their voices heard, and to ensure that we take action to address their concerns.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Five years ago, Bath and North East Somerset council’s budget for children’s services was £28 million; this year, it is predicted to be £40 million. Transport costs, particularly, are spiralling out of control, as private providers seem to deliberately place young people out of area. What my council needs, apart from potential price control, is capital investment, so that it can rebuild its in-house services. Will the Minister commit to that?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree that costs are spiralling out of control. More action is necessary to support councils in investing in services and ensuring provision for children much closer to home. Too many children are being sent far away from family support networks. That presents local councils with additional cost pressures, and pushes many to the point of bankruptcy, as well as denying children the life chances they deserve.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State will be aware that local authorities have a legal duty to house unintentionally homeless people, including those in priority need, such as 18 to 19-year-old care leavers and people with dependent children. At the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, we heard that, shockingly, over 150,000 children are in temporary accommodation in England. Does the Secretary of State agree that without urgent action on the housing crisis, we will not see improvements for care-leaving children?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree, and the Deputy Prime Minister is determined to drive forward change in this area, not just with more homes being built across our country, including social homes, but by taking action in the area that my hon. Friend describes, when children are leaving the care system. I assure her that the Government will act in those areas.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

I warmly welcome today’s statement. The Secretary of State is right that it is long overdue, and that early intervention is key. Too many children in this country are in care because they and their families did not get the support and help that they needed, when they needed it. She referenced the report led by the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), which stated that we need a revolution in family help, and specifically a £2.6 billion temporary injection of financial support to make the shift to prevention. Can she make that commitment?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington will speak for himself on his report. The Government recognise the need to rebalance the system away from crisis intervention, and to break the cycle of spending ever more pots of money on what amounts to a failure within our system. We will refocus our work on early support for families, and ensure that there is more support for kinship and fostering families. That is important, not just given the cost of the increasing number of interventions; most crucially, it is how we will deliver better life chances for the most vulnerable children in our country.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Having grown up in a kinship care setting, with my grandparents, I heartily welcome the content of the Command Paper. Had its provisions been available to my grandparents, I would have had a very different experience growing up, so I greatly welcome what the Secretary of State is doing; however, for those young people who have to enter the care system, it cannot be a one-way process; ageing out cannot be the only exit. Will she set out a little more on what the paper will do to help with reunification, so that young people who go into care can go back to their parents? I encourage her to look at the work of Pause, a national charity that is doing so much work with the birth parents of children who get taken into care, so that they get the help and support that they need after what can be a very traumatic experience.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I thank my hon. Friend for speaking about his experiences. He will know that until quite recently this area was perhaps little understood. It is so important that people like him are able to speak openly; it demonstrates bravery and will encourage others to do the same. I will happily look at the report and the work that he mentions, and ensure that routes back into family care, for those children for whom that is possible, are considered in our ongoing work.

[Bobby Dean (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

In the London borough of Sutton, we started to in-house some children’s care home provision back in 2020, and we now care for six children with complex needs. What assessment has the Department made of the potential scale of local authorities taking on services directly, if given the right support by the Government?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Like the hon. Gentleman, I have seen good examples of councils across the country that have started to take such action, but they have done so by going against the grain of Government policy. This time, councils will have the backing of the Government in making those changes. We will also ensure that they can take action on a regional basis, work together and collaborate, so that they can manage placements more effectively. That way, we will not just bring down costs to the taxpayer, which are spiralling out of control, but ensure that children can stay closer to family support networks, which is crucial to their long-term future.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Having spent 14 years watching children’s services struggle in the way the Secretary of State outlines, with serious case reviews often being the moment of intervention, I heartily welcome the emphasis on early intervention, and what she says about the responsibility that we all have. She will know that there has been much discussion about the concept of corporate parenting. What is her thinking on that, and what role does she see for us as Members of Parliament? At the moment, relationships across the country are clearly too inconsistent. That is to the detriment of safeguarding, and indeed of our young people.

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right that there are many long-standing challenges in this area. On corporate parenting, today’s Command Paper sets out the steps that we intend to take to bring forward further plans in this area. I look forward to working with her on the shape and scale of those plans, because it is essential that we all take our responsibilities incredibly seriously, as I know she does.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s broad commitment to reducing the number of children who need to go into care. Building on the comments of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell), I want to emphasise the work that Pause does with West Sussex county council and 24 other authorities. Pause has a vision of ensuring that no one goes through having a child taken into care more than once. However, more than half of areas have no support available for parents after a child is removed from their care, which leads to many being trapped in a cycle of pregnancies, care proceedings and repeat removals. What assurances can the Secretary of State give that this valuable work will be more widely rolled out across the country, and will she meet me and Pause to discuss how that work can be taken forward?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady, and I am sure that the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) would be happy to meet her to discuss the issue further. She is right to identify the need for ongoing support for families when a child or children has been removed. Before coming to this House, I worked with many families who were in that situation. I saw directly not just how much of a difference could be made to the lives of those children and families, but how, when mothers were going through subsequent pregnancies, that intervention and support could often be crucial in making sure that the children were able to stay with the mother. That is sadly not always possible, but much more can be achieved with the right level of support. I certainly saw some amazing examples where it was possible to break what had sadly felt like a cycle.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

I thank all those working so hard to support vulnerable children in our country, and I thank the Secretary of State for her statement today and some excellent steps forward. May I ask her for a little more clarity on the important point she made about the need for greater co-production with charities and other agencies?

[Bridget Phillipson]

As we take forward further proposals both for legislation and for wider change and reform across the sector, we look forward to working not only with family rights organisations, charities and others to make sure that they are involved in the design of services, but with our brilliant and often unsung workforce—as my hon. Friend identifies—who often do their work behind the scenes and without the recognition they deserve. Our social work workforce and others play a crucial role, and we are determined to do more to support them in their vital endeavours.

[Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)]

I warmly welcome today’s statement from the Secretary of State. As a county councillor in Oxfordshire, the number of children in our care who are living in unregistered children’s homes is of grave concern to me. Those homes are often overpriced and always suboptimal for vulnerable children, as well as being strictly illegal. I heard what the Secretary of State had to say about the local authority settlement next month. Will she undertake to work with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor to allocate some of the capital investment announced in the Budget, so that local authorities can open new registered children’s homes and provide safer and more affordable accommodation closer to home for vulnerable young people?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree, and I will be working very closely with the Chancellor and the Deputy Prime Minister in this area. The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the increase in unsafe unregistered placements. That is why we are giving Ofsted further powers to act and why I set out in the Command Paper that we will make sure that councils and others have the powers they need to deliver more placements for children. I encourage him to look closely at that work; I think he will find much that he can welcome in it.

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s considerate focus. Children in care have died in unregulated accommodation, but that did not stop the last Conservative Government introducing cruel legislation to make it permissible for councils to place children in care aged 16 and above into such accommodation—tents, caravans, bed and breakfasts and houses in multiple occupation, surrounded by adult strangers and with no continuing care at all. Please will she overturn that legislation?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I know that my hon. Friend, from her professional expertise before coming to this House, understands better than most how important social work, early intervention and support for families are in this area. She is right to identify that we see an increasing number of children in unsafe and unregistered placements. They are illegal to run, but Ofsted found 887 unregistered homes, up from 370 in 2022-23. We will give Ofsted the powers it needs to tackle unregistered provision. We need to hit providers who are behaving in this way where it hurts, as the threat of prosecution clearly is not working.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

Somerset council is facing a £7.5 million overspend on children’s services this financial year, with an increased number of children coming into care. I welcome the pledge to provide early interventions, as they provide better outcomes for children while keeping costs down for councils. Will the Secretary of State provide more detail on how a joined-up approach will be achieved, so that local authorities can provide the best possible care for children?

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[Bridget Phillipson]

I am working closely with the Deputy Prime Minister in this crucial area, and there will be more to say before too long about the local government finance settlement. As the hon. Member identifies, it is important that we rebalance the children’s social care system away from crisis intervention and towards more timely and early support. We know that that is where we make the biggest difference to children’s lives, and that is also what is driving the cost pressures that, sadly, lots of local authorities are seeing, as ever increasing numbers of children go through the children’s social care system. We are determined to make progress and to put more support in place earlier for families.

[Mark Ferguson (Gateshead Central and Whickham) (Lab)]

I wish to associate myself with the comments of the Secretary of State. While children in care are incredibly important, it is also important that we do our best for those who are care experienced. In my constituency, 50% of those who leave care are not in education, employment or training, as I heard when I visited Changing Lives at Eslington House in my constituency on Friday. What more can be done to support care leavers?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right to identify that, sadly, for too many care-experienced young people coming out of the system, their outcomes are just not good enough and the facts in terms of their life chances are stark. We are determined to change that. I am working closely with the Deputy Prime Minister as part of the care leavers inter-ministerial board, because actions across many Departments could make a big and meaningful difference to the life chances of care-experienced young people. As part of that, it was incredibly powerful to listen to the experiences of two young people who had just come through the system, and in all our discussions in this important area we must listen to the experiences and views of those who have direct lived experience of how the system has let them down, and what needs to change in future.

[Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)]

Devon county council children’s services was assessed by Ofsted in April. It found that the children’s front door service was effective, after previously having been deemed by Ofsted to be inadequate. When the Secretary of State simplifies and consolidates the money available through the local government finance settlement, will she take into account the additional costs borne by rural local authorities?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We will look at all factors including the one identified by the hon. Gentleman, as well as at areas of good practice where many local councils, despite the many difficulties they face, are taking forward innovative new ways of working, and doing all they can to support children and families. There is much we can learn from good examples that exist across the country.

[Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

In Derbyshire, the Conservative leader of the county council got in touch with me and other MPs in the previous Parliament to plead with us to do something about the profiteering taking place in the private sector. Nothing happened under the last Government, and we heard from the shadow Secretary of State that if we do anything to try to curb that profiteering, we will lose capacity. I agree with the Secretary of State that councils have a greater role to play. Does she agree that if councils had their own provision, that would empower them to prevent the profiteering being carried out by extortionate private providers?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree with my hon. Friend, who is right to identify that there is support for such measures across political parties. Children are being let down by our failure, and we must do more to improve capacity. We will support councils working together to do that. I have seen great examples of where that has happened, but much more needs to be done. As he identifies, this is about ensuring that children get the support they need to thrive, and under this Government they will have support in that crucial area.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. This is incredibly good news so I thank her very much—I think we all welcome it across this great United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland. The Barnardo’s charity in Northern Ireland has indicated for a long time that it has been concerned about this issue, so it too welcomes the statement today. We in Northern Ireland have the highest rate of kinship care, along with Scotland, but a streamlined process with a decent level of funding would enable greater buy-in from those who have lots of love but not enough money. Any increase would also need additional funding for the devolved regions. Is the Secretary of State able to confirm that?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am visiting Northern Ireland soon, when I look forward to discussing both that area and wider issues relating to education with counterparts in Northern Ireland.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s comments. The more I hear about this area, the more I think that this Government have inherited a wild west from the previous Government, so shocking is the situation in children’s social care. Will she agree to meet me to talk about a particular issue with a foster carer in my constituency that exemplifies the scale of the problem we face?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing the House’s attention to this area. I would be more than happy to meet him. He is right that the situation we have inherited is one where too many children are being let down and where the quality of provision for very vulnerable children is just not good enough. I look forward to working with him to make that change happen.

[Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

With more than 300 children in Hartlepool in social care, the council is being slowly bankrupted. The top four private providers on average are charging £12,000 per child per week. That is £624,000 a year per child. Does my right hon. Friend agree that only by capping that outrageous profiteering can we protect children, but also get value for money for local council tax payers?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Private providers are making, in some cases, between 20% and 30% profit. That is way beyond what we would expect in any other area. Crucially, when we think about where they are making that profit, it is off the back of the trauma, abuse and sometimes very difficult early childhood experiences of some of the most vulnerable children in our country. My hon. Friend is right that the issue he identifies in Hartlepool is sadly felt right across the country. He may wish to know that there are now more than 1,500 children in placements that each cost half a million pounds every single year. We have got to change that.

[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

Analysis by the Local Government Association reveals that the top 15 private children’s social care providers are making an average profit of 23%. It is frankly unacceptable that private firms are profiting at all from vulnerable children, let alone when the care they provide is so often poor and is funded by public money, pushing councils to the brink. I commend the Government’s plans to tackle this urgent issue. Will my right hon. Friend also commit to properly fund not-for-profit and public sector provision to improve children’s social care and to end this obscene profiteering for good?

[Bridget Phillipson]

It is vital that we drive up standards and quality in children’s social care placements, and we want to make sure that we are providing support for councils, charities and others to do precisely that. The highest possible standards and quality of care are essential for children and young people who have been through some very traumatic experiences and deserve our full support. I agree that we must take action on excessive profiteering. It has been left to drift for far too long, and this Government will act.

[David Baines (St Helens North) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome this statement, like all colleagues on the Government Benches and hopefully like colleagues across the whole House. I particularly welcome the comments on care leavers; it is important that we do not forget about them. When I became council leader of St Helens in 2019, services for care leavers were rated inadequate by Ofsted. I am proud to say that they are now outstanding. The credit for that goes to Councillor Nova Charlton and the whole children’s services team. The Secretary of State is more than welcome to visit St Helens to hear about the good work they do and how they do it. Will she tell me a bit more about what steps she is taking with colleagues to make sure that local government has the funding it needs to run these services? It has to be a whole council effort—if one part fails, it all falls down.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I commend my hon. Friend and his council on the work they have undertaken to deliver better outcomes for care-experienced young people. It is crucial, and I am sure there is much we can learn from that work. The Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) will be happy to have a conversation with him to discuss that further. We will be setting out further steps to make clear the funding arrangements, but it is essential that we put more money into children’s social care. We are doing that, and we will set out more in due course through the local government finance settlement.

[Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)]

I welcome the reforming zeal of the Secretary of State in this area; her work has been outstanding. As somebody who led a council with a double outstanding accreditation for the past eight years—all praise goes to council staff for that—may I ask that we learn from the best within the sector and ensure that local government can also trigger a review where it sees profiteering? In one case in Telford, a bill for one placement of £409,000 was taken almost overnight. May I also give a word of caution and be assured that this grant will not be like the public health grant, which was consolidated into the local government fund and cut and eroded over a number of years?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I join my hon. Friend in praising the work of council staff and the many councils across our country taking action in this area. I agree that we can learn a lot from the best examples of support for care-experienced young people and the overall approach taken around children’s social care. I look forward to working with him in that area and note the point he raises. When it comes to ensuring that local councils have a role in the financial oversight of the system, we will of course take his views into account. The regime we will set out will allow us to provide much clearer and greater scrutiny those providers that are, frankly, profiting shamefully from some of the most vulnerable children in our country.

[Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)]

I am pleased to hear the statement on care leavers. Children who leave care have previously been let down by a system that pretty much stops support once they leave care. To ensure that care-experienced young people can make the most of their future, will the Secretary of State outline the Government’s plans to support care leavers in Tamworth and around the country so that they can gain the skills and experience they need to thrive?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right to identify the urgent need to do more to support care leavers at the point when they move through the system and throughout their lives. That is why I am working with the Deputy Prime Minister and other Government colleagues so that we all pull together and do much more to deliver better life chances for care leavers. We will roll out the Staying Close programme nationally to ensure that all young people leaving care have the support they need. We are also setting out corporate parenting proposals to ensure that all of us pull together to listen to the views and experiences of young people. I am sure that, like me, she has heard directly from care leavers about how badly they feel failed by a system that has not properly reflected their needs and experiences, and it is vital that we put the needs of care-experienced young people front and centre in our discussions.

[Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)]

I welcome the statement and the robust steps the Government are taking for our children and young people. I was disappointed to read a report by Ofsted last week into the special educational needs and disabilities provision in Derbyshire, which found there to be “systemic failings” and that the provision was inadequate. Our children and young people deserve so much better. Has the Secretary of State made an assessment of how the previous Government’s failure to deal with SEND has fuelled problems in children’s social care? Does she agree that more integration is needed between education, healthcare, local authorities and providers, including through integrated care boards and partnerships, to deliver long-lasting and sustained outcomes for our young people?

--- Later in debate ---

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree with my hon. Friend: that joint working is important, and it provides much clearer support for families who often do not want to have to repeat their experiences time and again to different sets of professionals and who want better and more targeted support. I have seen great examples, including in Lewisham earlier this week, where the pathfinder programme ensures that all children get the support they need through more timely intervention and through working closely with families. I know that Derby city council has done some excellent work in that area. There is an overlap between children’s social care and SEND, and they have similar challenges. We want to ensure that we share practice between those two areas where possible.

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

Children in care are some of the most vulnerable in our society, and many people in Sandwell are worried about children in small care homes, which often seem to lack oversight and regulation. I welcome the measures that the Government set out today. Will the Secretary of State ensure that Ofsted has the powers it needs to inspect children’s social care and ensure that all homes are suitable and safe places for children to be?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for sharing her and her constituents’ concerns with the House. We will act to ensure that Ofsted has the powers it needs to tackle unregistered, unsafe and unsuitable placements and accommodation. Our most vulnerable children deserve the best possible support, and right now we are sadly far away from that.

[Josh MacAlister (Whitehaven and Workington) (Lab)]

The outcomes for children and families involved in the children’s social care system are some of the worst in our country. That is truly a huge social justice issue, so I welcome the leadership shown by the Secretary of State and her team so soon in the new Government’s time in office. So many of the recommendations came from the contributions of those with lived experience, whether on regional care co-operatives, expanding corporate parenting, the importance of a unique child identifier and the changes to Ofsted that have been announced. Does the Secretary of State agree that the contribution made to the review that I led by thousands of people with lived experience, who are often so unheard and unseen in society, is validated by today’s announcement?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his tremendous work in this area. I am delighted that we have been able to act in many of the areas that he identified as part of his review. He is right to draw our attention to the thousands of people, including those with lived experience, who contributed to his vital work. It is testament to his work and their contributions that the Government are able to take forward work in so many areas that will make a significant difference to the lives and experiences of vulnerable children across our country, from today and over many years to come.

[Alex Sobel (Leeds Central and Headingley) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby), for her recent visit to my constituency. In its exemplary work, Leeds city council is currently focusing on small group homes to bring children back to Leeds from private provision outside the city, which will give much better outcomes and save significant costs, and on early help and intervention. The Minister saw all that work when she was in Leeds. Will the Secretary of State, whose work on regional care co-operatives I absolutely welcome, clarify further what support will be available for local authorities to consider alternative models of care over and above those co-operatives?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend’s local authority has done brilliant work in this area. We are keen to build on the best examples that already exist around the country. I know that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary was impressed with everything that she saw as part of that visit. We are determined to ensure that we back councils and their ability to work regionally to deliver better placements closer to home, and to bring children back into their local area wherever possible. My hon. Friend will know, as I do, that children thrive when they are close to family and support networks. That allows for much stronger and better life chances as they move into adulthood. I look forward to working with him to ensure that councils have the powers to do more. We will set out more as soon as parliamentary time allows.

[Lola McEvoy (Darlington) (Lab)]

It is so refreshing to see a Labour Secretary of State take action on profiteering in our local authorities. I have been calling for such action, because in my constituency the average cost of an independent residential placement has increased by 65% in the last five years. Despite that, our Labour-led council continues to fight to give decent and good-quality placements to all our looked-after children. Does the Secretary of State agree that tackling the practice of excess profiteering, which was largely ignored by the previous Government, is exactly what we were elected to do to get value for taxpayers’ money and ensure that these vital services, which look after our vulnerable children, deliver the best possible outcomes for children whom we are determined will succeed?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful for all my hon. Friend’s work in this area. She is right that councils were left at the mercy of private providers, often paying extortionate costs for poor-quality provision that did not deliver safety, dignity and better life chances for our children. We are determined to turn that around, and I look forward to working with her to ensure that children across our country, including those going through the children’s social care system, have their voices heard. Their struggles and challenges have too long been ignored. Under this Government, action will follow.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

In my time as a councillor and corporate parent, nothing was more distressing than the complex safeguarding issues that we had to deal with, and nothing more enraging that seeing people profit from them. That is why Calderdale council did good work to bring children’s homes in house. I hope that the statement means an end to that profiteering.

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are calling time on the excess profiteering of big private providers, which are seeing profits of 20% to 30%. If they fail to act and bring down costs, we will legislate to cap their costs. This cannot continue; it has been left to drift for far too long, and local authorities such as my hon. Friend’s have been up against it, often facing an impossible task but doing great work where they can. We will work with councils, including on a regional basis, to provide accommodation for children and young people that is closer to home and of a higher quality, with better standards, and we will tackle unregistered and illegal provision.

[Jake Richards (Rother Valley) (Lab)]

It is brilliant to see a Secretary of State take this issue so seriously and get a grip on it so early on in her time in government. Figures published last week show that the number of children placed far from home increased by 51% over the last decade between 2014 and 2024. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is about not only capacity, quality and cost, but the geography of the placements, to ensure that when children are placed away from their families, they can stay in touch?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right. There are big differences based on geography. I find it quite astounding that 25% of registered places are in the north-west of England. That is a staggering number, and sadly it means that far too many children are moving far from home, away from family networks and moving school or education provision. We need to make sure that that changes and that our most vulnerable children, who have often been through incredibly traumatic early childhood experiences and exposed to things that no child should ever see or witness, get the best possible support and standards. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to drive up standards and make sure that every child in his constituency who needs support through children’s social care has a much better experience and better adult life chances.