Government action needs more money to succeed, warn children's leaders

Children’s services judged “inadequate” must improve within six months or they will be taken over, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

An Ofsted inspection will be ordered where there are concerns about an authority. If an authority’s children’s services fail to improve within six months of their inspection, a new commissioner will be put in place, and high-performing local authorities, experts and charities will be brought in.

Cameron said: "Children’s services support the most vulnerable children in our society. They are in our care; we, the state, are their parents; and we are failing them. It is our duty to put this right; to say to poorly performing local authorities: improve, or be taken over. We will not stand by while children are let down by inadequate social services."

But Alison O’Sullivan, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), said that for the plans to be successful, additional resources would be needed.

“We recognise that in some areas, services are not yet good enough and it is right that we draw on the expertise of the strongest authorities to safely unlock the skills and potential of the practice and corporate leaders working within it, and within the wider children’s services sector," she said.

“But there is more to improvement than simply changing structures. Parallel to this lies the need for increases in demand to be met with adequate financial resources.

“Even with the closure of many children's centres and youth services, we still face a funding shortfall and we risk losing capacity in the system to prevent problems from escalating to a point beyond repair. This must be urgently addressed – we owe it to our children, to our young people and to their families.”

Kathy Evans, chief executive of Children England, said the government's threat to take over failing children’s services "looks like deckchair re-arrangement on a fleet of torpedoed ships".
 
She said: “Changing the management structure without addressing the systemic inadequacy of budgets to meet rapidly increasing levels of children’s needs is an irresponsible political move that will leave early intervention abandoned, and essential staff stressed and demoralised.

"Handover to trusts is a very new initiative and the jury is still out on whether, and how, they might help. They are certainly no panacea, and with Doncaster’s takeover trust recently rated 'inadequate', the Prime Minister should show more caution in presuming that takeovers are a decisive or strong solution.”

Alongside tougher intervention action, Cameron also announced the introduction of “academy-style freedoms" for high-performing local authorities, a review of the role of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs), and whether serious case reviews should be conducted centrally rather than locally as is currently the case.

The LSCB review is to be led by Alan Wood, former president of the ADCS.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless welcomed the announcement and said more must be done to reduce the number of child protection failures.

“Tackling child abuse is the greatest challenge of our generation," he said. “So an increased government focus alongside these reforms, to help reduce the risk of harm to vulnerable children, is very welcome.
 
“Child protection is often a huge and complex area, but too frequently some services have failed in this crucial duty. When this happens, swift action is an absolute priority to prevent tragedies that shame us all.”

Children's services providers' body Children’s Services Development Group (CSDG) said the government action should ensure a wider variety of providers deliver children's services.  
 
CSDG spokeswoman Lizzie Wells said: “We hope this renewed focus on outcomes and value for money will mean the innovation and best practice that exists in the independent and voluntary sectors will be recognised and harnessed to improve the lives of our most vulnerable children.
 
“In the context of the Spending Review last month, and continued pressure on local authority budgets, it is imperative that local leaders maximise the expertise and investment that is available.

“Until local authorities equally consider the services that exist beyond their own in-house provision, children in care will not have equal opportunities to their peers.”

Last June, the Prime Minister first announced his intention to find ways of improving children's services.