Election 2017 Party Policy Guide: Safeguarding and care

Conservatives

• Introduce a new criminal offence for perpetrators of domestic abuse directed at a child
• Review support for children in need to understand why their outcomes are so poor and what more support they might require, both in and out of school
• Continue to remove child protection services from failing authorities and place them into trusts
• Look at ways to improve the family justice system so it does more to support families, while ensuring parents face up to their responsibilities
• Continue to fund schemes to get graduates into social work, such as Frontline, and look to expand them to older professionals

Labour

• Promote the care and educational achievement of the most vulnerable children
• Increase support for children in kinship and foster care, and their families
• Support further regulation of commercial fostering agencies
  Commission a review on establishing a national fostering service
• Extend Staying Put arrangements to support all children and young people in residential and other forms of care until they are 21
• Continue to support all training routes for social workers
  Prevent the private sector and subsidiaries of private companies from running child protection services
• Deliver earlier protection to victims of abuse by strengthening mandatory reporting

Liberal Democrats

• Continue to promote and invest in the Frontline programme to fast-track exceptional graduates into children's social work
• Aim to end female genital mutilation worldwide within a generation

Commentary

The most concrete Conservative pledge relating to safeguarding is the creation of a new criminal offence of domestic abuse directed at a child.

Beyond this, there are commitments to review support for children in need and improve the family justice system.

The Liberal Democrats appear light on policy in this area, with Labour making the most commitments.

In addition to improving the care system, Labour says it will extend Staying Put arrangements to children in residential care, commission a review on establishing a national fostering agency and strengthen mandatory reporting requirements.

Download a PDF of the full policy guide or click on each subject heading to examine Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat policies for that area.

Childcare and early years

Child health

Child poverty

Education

Free school meals

Youth policy and youth justice