Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of demand for children’s services provided by local authorities.
Department data shows that since 2013, the number of children in need, children on child protection plans and looked after children, at 31 March 2018 have risen by 7.1%, 24.5% and 10.7% respectively.
The government is working, between now and the Spending Review 2019, to get a sharper picture of demand for children’s services.
The department is also working with MHCLG on the fair funding review of relative needs and resources, which is looking in more detail at levels of demand in local authorities.