Children's trusts were central to Labour's vision for joined up services and the implementation of its Every Child Matters agenda. The trusts were intended to help provide seamless services for children and young people, involving a wide range of professionals from the police and social care, to health and education.
But the coalition government is sceptical about what it terms as "one-size-fits-all" structures. While Education Secretary Michael Gove believes councils should be free to set up children's trusts if they wish, he is unenthusiastic about trusts carrying any statutory clout and claims that existing arrangements are overly bureaucratic.
He has already revoked the legal requirement for children's trusts to publish children and young people's plans, as well as schools' so-called "duty to co-operate" with trusts. Legislation to further deregulate children's trusts is expected before the end of the year. But despite all this, evidence supporting the value of the trusts is emerging.
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