In a bid to identify the best ways to prevent children being removed from their families, social workers will be handed "significant funds" to spend in "creative ways" as part of a Department for Education initiative.
Suggestions for how the money could be used include family breaks, redecorating the home, or covering the cost of childcare.
The work is being led by the DfE's What Works Centre for Children's Social Care, which has invited councils to bid for funding of between £400,000 and £600,000 to test the idea.
The practice of devolved budgets has been used in adult social care for a number of years, but is not without controversy. In 2010 it was claimed that exotic holidays, internet dating subscriptions and adventure breaks, as well as visits to sex workers and lap dancing clubs had all been permitted under the system.
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