Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the protection of families and young children, particularly in light of (1) the decrease in local authority spending on early intervention services, and (2) the rising number of children in residential care.

The department recognises that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention to support families stay together and thrive. This will be at the heart of this government’s system reform of children’s social care.

Through the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family Network Pilot, the department is testing the implementation of intensive whole-family support in 10 pathfinder local authorities, where multi-disciplinary teams are providing targeted support to help families overcome challenges at the earliest opportunity, to prevent escalation, to keep children safe and help families to overcome challenges, stay together and thrive. The pathfinder is being independently evaluated. Early evaluation findings are expected in spring 2025.

The department recognises that there are increasing numbers of children in high cost, residential placements. Whilst many children benefit from high quality children’s homes, for too many children, residential placements do not meet their needs and are putting significant pressures on local authority budgets. This is why the department is committed to supporting alternatives to care for children who cannot stay with their birth parents, such as kinship arrangements. Through the Family’s First for Children pathfinder and Family Network Pilot, the department aims to make greater use of family networks, involving them in decision-making at an earlier stage, and providing practical and financial support via family network support packages to help keep children safe at home.

Furthermore, foster carers play a vital role in the care system, offering stable, nurturing, and loving family environments. However, in recent years the number of people applying to be foster carers has dropped significantly. The department is addressing this through a suite of measures. Key among these is the creation of a regional approach where 99 local authorities are working in 10 regional clusters, collaborating to recruit and retain foster carers.

This government is introducing a Children’s Wellbeing Bill to support these reforms, including through a strengthened multi-agency response. The department will also take targeted action on specific harms such as child criminal and sexual exploitation.