Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of distribution of funding to different local authorities to meet social care need in those areas.

The Department for Education works closely with local authorities and the sector to assess the impact of a variety of factors on children’s services, including funding and any increases in demand.

Local authority funding is distributed using a formula based on population and deprivation, as well as the varying cost of delivering services across the country.

The government is committed to reform of the local government finance system and will continue to work with the sector to ensure that the system supports local authorities to effectively deliver their services.