Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to restore funding for (a) early help, (b) family support and (c) other early intervention services to pre-austerity levels.

Children’s social care in Northern Ireland is a transferred power, making it a devolved matter. This answer reflects the position in England. The 2021 Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion for 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. This significant investment is largely un-ringfenced in recognition that local leaders know the priorities for their local communities best. The Government has also provided an additional £200 million for Supporting Families. This represents around a 40% real-terms uplift in funding for the programme by 2024-25, taking total planned investment across the next three years to £695 million. This significant investment into early help services comes in advance of Josh MacAlister’s independent review of children’s social care, which will report in the Spring. The Government will consider any recommendations carefully.