Figures published by the Department for Education show that total spend by local authorities across England on children in care will increase to £4.16bn for 2018/19, a rise of £370.1m on the 2017/18 figure of £3.79bn.
The increase in spending coincides with consistent rises is numbers of children in care - at the end of March 2017 the figure stood at 72,670, compared with 70,440 the year before and 69,480 in 2015.
As part of efforts to stem numbers of children entering care the government's What Works Centre for Children's Social Care is investing £2m to test out innovative new ways of tackling the issue, including devolving budgets to social workers to support struggling families how they see fit.
The DfE figures also show that the amount spent on safeguarding services, which includes child protection work, is set to rise by £99.7m, from £2.14bn to £2.24bn.
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
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
