Sector leaders criticise lack of progress two years on from Care Review publication

The Our Care coalition, which includes NSPCC and Barnardo’s, is concerned over a lack of action to enact reforms promised by the government following the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care’s final report.

The government last year pledged £200m in improvements, including trialing targeted early help schemes and improving support for carers.

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But the coalition said that “two years on from the publication of the Care Review there has been little progress in the reform of our children’s social care system, which sadly continues to fail too many children”.

They are particularly concerned that money promised by ministers is less than a tenth of the £2.6bn needed for effective reform called for by the review.

“Councils are buckling under the financial pressures of supporting ever rising numbers of children entering care, yet are not being given the means to properly invest in early help services that can be a lifeline for struggling families, said the coalition, whose members also include Action for Children, Become, Coram Voice, National Children’s Bureau and The Children’s Society

“After two years of promises yet painfully slow progress, the government should now urgently prioritise and properly fund the system’s reform.”

Josh MacAlister, who chaired the review, said  “not enough has changed” over the last two years.

He welcomed “steps in the right direction” including promises to improve support for kinship care families.

However, he added: “Without bold national action to reform the system at the scale the review recommended, costs will continue to rise and outcomes for children in care will remain stubbornly poor."

Louise Fitt, who is 23 and spent time in foster care when she was a child, is among those with experience of care to criticise the slow pace of reforms.

“I’m really disappointed to see not much has changed two years after this big review was published,” she said,

“It makes me believe the people in power aren’t really taking any of this seriously enough. It’s a big let down – for me and all those children and young people in the care system.”

Rachel Musekiwa, also 23, is a young ambassador for Action for Children and went into care when she was nine years old.

“It's disheartening to witness the lack of significant progress from the government in improving the social care system,” she said.

“Barely allocating any funding to such a crucial aspect of society is simply unacceptable. It begs the question: What's the point of placing children into care if the necessary support and resources aren't provided for us to thrive?

“We all aspire to a brighter future, but without adequate government commitment and investment, it remains out of reach for many of us.”