Comment: Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman report

10 Dec 2020 in Safeguarding and Child Protection > Safeguarding & Child Protection >

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Commenting on the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman’s report, ADCS President Jenny Coles said:

“The role of the corporate parent is one of the most important roles a council has. We continuously try to do everything we can to support all children in care but we are faced with multiple challenges that can hamper our efforts. Recent ADCS research shows that the number of children in care in England has increased by 34% over the past decade, whilst during the same period local authority budgets have been halved, and there is an estimated £3.1 billion funding gap in children’s services by 2025. As the report highlights, placement sufficiency continues to be a key issue for a vast majority of councils and ADCS has called for a national strategy to recruit more foster carers, to increase capacity in children’s residential homes or to address geographic mismatch of placements.

It is important that local authorities learn from their successes and also where things have gone wrong. The case studies in the report provide an opportunity for the sector to learn and subsequently improve practice. We still await the government’s much anticipated care review which provides an opportunity to be bold and ambitious for all children in our care, to learn from what works well and what does not and crucially involve care experienced young people. Children in our care deserve nothing less.”

ENDS