Extra spending is needed to stop the predicted rise in child poverty causing England’s overstretched children’s social care services to deteriorate even further, the Education Policy Institute has warned.
In a review of the state of children’s social care, the independent research institute found that workforce instability, financial pressures and rising thresholds for intervention are damaging the ability of local authority social care services to support vulnerable children.
The institute’s review found services were grappling with significant rises in demand for their services with child protection plans up 24 per cent and the number of looked-after children up nine per cent between 2010 and 2016. It also noted that 80 per cent of councils are overspending on children’s social care with one in 10 set to run out of reserves within three years if this trend continues.
