Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of a reduction in the number of children’s centre places in local authorities on the number of children being taken into care in that area.

​The information requested is not held centrally because no such assessment has been made. However, the National Audit Office’s recent report on children’s social care found no support for the hypothesis that a reduction in the number of children’s centre buildings would increase the use of child protection plans. The report can be accessed at: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/pressures-on-childrens-social-care/.