Evaluating innovation projects in children’s social care

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 26 Jul 2022 Closed: 24 Feb 2023 Parliament page
Since 2014 the Department for Education has provided over £300 million of funding to a range of “innovation projects”, intended to help local authorities improve outcomes for children and improve value for money children’s social care. In June 2024, the National Audit Office noted DfE’s exemplary approach to evaluation and … Read more
5 Recommendations
14 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Event
Activity timeline 4 events
24 Feb
2023
Report published
23 Nov
2022
Report published
8 Sep
2022
Oral evidence
8 Sep
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
8 Sep 2022
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Evaluating innovation projects in children’s social care
Isabelle Trowler · Department for Education Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education Suzanne Lunn · Department for Education
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-Seventh Report - Evaluating innovation projects in childr… HC 38 23 Nov 2022 19 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Seventh Report - Evaluating…
We are not yet convinced the Department’s dissemination of learning from the programme is delivering...
We are not yet convinced the Department’s dissemination of learning from the programme is delivering widespread improvement. The Innovation Programme and its successor schemes have spread practice from six promising innovations across 57 further local authorities. There is some evidence … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and stated its strategy addresses the recommendation by promoting take up of well-evidenced models, using Practice Guides, establishing learning events, testing Family Network Support Packages, and delivering a fostering recruitment and retention programme.
HM Treasury
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3 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Seventh Report - Evaluating…
The Department does not yet have the data it needs to understand the impact of...
The Department does not yet have the data it needs to understand the impact of the innovation programme. Systems that provide high quality information to everyone involved can contribute to a culture of evaluation and an understanding of 6 Evaluating … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and will publish a Children’s Social Care (CSC) data strategy by the end of 2023, developed with local authorities and sector experts, to improve data collection, transparency, and use for better outcomes.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Seventh Report - Evaluating…
Potential innovation risks being hampered by inflexibility in the wider system of children’s social care.
Potential innovation risks being hampered by inflexibility in the wider system of children’s social care. The Department intended the Innovation Programme to both improve outcomes for children in the social care system and produce savings. Residential care in children’s homes … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and stated its implementation strategy addresses the recommendation by working closely with DLUHC and HMT, pivoting service use to early family help and support, testing Family Network Support Packages, and delivering a fostering recruitment and retention programme.
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Seventh Report - Evaluating…
A challenging funding environment requires that government maintains its commitment to evaluation, and applies its...
A challenging funding environment requires that government maintains its commitment to evaluation, and applies its learning to secure better outcomes. As the Innovation Programme and its successor schemes move towards the end of 14 years of funding by 2027, the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and will demonstrate the benefits of its spending on innovation and evaluation by publishing a National Framework and Dashboard for consultation, and through continued support and funding for the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care.
HM Treasury
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6 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Seventh Report - Evaluating…
The Department believes the impact of the Innovation Programme on the sector has been ‘transformational’.
The Department believes the impact of the Innovation Programme on the sector has been ‘transformational’. It describes the demand stimulated by the programme, having received over 200 applications for the first funding round of a programme where evaluation was a … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to continue to promote and nurture a culture of evaluation through evaluating new proposals in the Care Review implementation strategy, and funding and support for a children’s services What Works Centre. A departmental evaluation strategy was published in June 2022.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 19 of 5 classified
Accepted 5
Acknowledged 14
Total 5 recs + 14 conclusions