Ford reveals details of extension to social care duty exemptions

Speaking at an All party parliamentary group (APPG) for children meeting to discuss the pandemic recovery, Ford said while the vast majority of exemptions were no longer needed, she wanted flexibilities in three areas to continue beyond 25 September. These areas cover:  

• Medical reports on prospective foster carers and adopters to be approved at a later date
• For visits between social workers and children to take place virtually when local lockdowns or self-isolation make in-person visits impossible
• Enable Ofsted to phase in their return to children’s social care inspections between now and April 2021.

Ford told the meeting, which was held virtually and included politicians and representatives from children’s charities, that a consultation on the extension plans would be launched later this week.

The amendments were introduced in April through the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, also known as Statutory Instrument 445, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing the meeting about SI445, Ford said: “At the start of the pandemic we needed flexibilities in social care regulations to help settings to respond to the outbreak. Thankfully many [councils] have managed the pressures and the majority have rarely used the flexibilities.

“I have written to local authorities to say they should no longer be using this flexibilities.

“We know the impact of the pandemic is not yet over so as children go back to school we need to be prepared. That is why later this week I will be launching a consultation on extending a small number of flexibilities for a temporary period.”

Earlier in the week, Ford told parliament that the majority of the more than 100 flexibilities were “no longer needed”.

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Robert Halfon MP, chair of the Commons education committee, told the meeting he was concerned about a “coming ice age in terms of educational progress” as a result of the pandemic.

He said: “Studies have shown 80 per cent of children have not been attending school and up to two million children did no schooling during the lockdown. That’s profoundly worrying because we know how important education wellbeing is for all pupils – it is a potential national disaster.”

Halfon said he’d written to Nick Gibb, minister of state for school standards, to ask how the £1bn catch up programme announced by the government earlier in the month would be targeted on supporting disadvantaged children.

He added that support through the programme needs to target wellbeing and pastoral care in addition to academic learning.  

Halfon also said the education committee has written to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden urging him to establish a “national education broadcasting service” that parents can use during the summer holidays to support the catch up programme.

“What I think should happen is that broadcasters need to set up a TV channel for parents to access education and learning for a few hours a day,” he said.