Revealed: cash crisis pushing child services to tipping point
This is an awful challenge in prospect and makes me queasy just thinking about the pressure facing a number of our landmark authorities. The story tells us:
Ministers are facing demands for emergency funds to protect thousands of vulnerable children after figures revealed that child social care services plunged more than £800m into the red in a single year.
In the latest sign of the cash crisis engulfing councils across England, senior local government figures now warn that children’s services are reaching a tipping point as the numbers needing help continue to grow and budgets continue to shrink.
The Observer understands that the Treasury was repeatedly approached for more funding by concerned ministers before the last budget, but the requests were turned down. Theresa May has also been warned by MPs that unless action is taken the funding crisis could cause another tragedy like the Baby P scandal of 2007.
Figures show that, last year alone, councils in England had to spend £816m more on children’s social care than they had budgeted for. It means that spending on children’s social care has increased at a faster rate than any other area that councils oversee.
According to the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils, there is now real pressure on attempts by councils to keep children safe from harm.
The annual number of referrals to children’s social care has increased by 100,000 children in a decade. The number of child protection plans, which assess their risk of harm and find ways to ensure their safety, is up by 23,000. The number of children in care is up 12,000 in a decade.
The government has been handed an internal report into the causes of the increasing numbers, but ministers have refused demands to publish its findings.