The new parliamentary under secretary of state for children andfamilies, Parmjit Dhanda, appointed in last week's wide-rangingministerial reshuffle, does not have long to get to grips with hisministerial brief, especially with regards to looked-after children.This is because, come the summer, he is widely expected to draw up agreen paper that sets out the Government's vision of what's needed totransform the lives of the 60,000-plus children in care in the UK(Children Now, 1-7 February).
Exactly how the minister decides to spread the ink will matter. Not justbecause he (and, by extension, the Government) is the ultimate corporateparent to these thousands of looked-after children, but also becausethere is so much to fix. For instance, six out of 10 young offendershave been in care and, in 2005, only 10.8 per cent of looked-afterchildren achieved the equivalent of five GCSEs at A* to C.
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