CYP Now - DfE 'misguided and shortsighted' on children's services spending

The Department for Education's view that varying levels of spending on children's services across England indicates that there is scope for yet further savings is "misguided and shortsighted", the Local Government Association (LGA) has said after a major study found that different levels of expenditure are inevitable.

Despite concerns among local authorities that the ongoing squeeze on budgets is placing increasing pressure on frontline services, the DfE's position in recent years has been that there is no evidence that spending more money improves effectiveness.

It argues that the fact that some authorities with lower per-head spend on children's social care achieve better outcomes than those spending more money indicates that, rather than additional funding being required, further efficiencies can be found.

However, research commissioned by the LGA has found that the main drivers of the cost of children's services are largely beyond the control of councils.

The study, conducted by the consultancy firm Newton found that children's services spending by English councils in 2016/17 varied from £292 to £1,254 per child and young person.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included