Children’s services statutory duties exercise

Matt Dunkley, Chair of the ADCS Resources and Sustainability Policy Committee, said:

“ADCS recently undertook an exercise to compile a non-exhaustive list of local authority statutory duties in relation to children’s services, updating a piece of work undertaken by government in 2011. This revealed a lengthy and growing list of legal responsibilities for us in relation to children, young people and families. We believe there are now almost 300 such duties, including the new and unfunded burdens since 2011. This is in stark contrast to a 50% reduction in funding for local authorities since 2010 and an increasing number of children and families in need of help and support, facing evermore complex problems. Local authorities have worked hard to make savings, but now there is nowhere left to go, except cutting preventative services that reduce demand. We hope this ever-increasing list highlights the urgent need for a sufficient, sustainable core funding strategy for children’s services – without this our ability to make good, safe decisions in the best interests of children and families will increasingly be compromised.”

ENDS

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