Children’s social care

Education Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 22 Nov 2024 Closed: 2 Feb 2026 Parliament page
In December 2023, the previous Education Committee began an important inquiry into the state of children's social care in England. Unfortunately, this work was interrupted by the General Election and the dissolution of Parliament on 30 May 2024, which meant all select committees were disbanded. Recognising the critical nature of … Read more
14 Recommendations
64 Conclusions
1 Report
8 Oral sessions
5 Letters
8 Events
Activity timeline 23 events
17 Oct
2025
Report published
15 Jul
2025
Correspondence
10 Jul
2025
Report published
23 Apr
2025
Correspondence
8 Apr
2025
Correspondence
18 Mar
2025
Oral evidence
18 Mar
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
11 Feb
2025
Oral evidence
11 Feb
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
21 Jan
2025
Oral evidence
21 Jan
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
7 Jan
2025
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 8 sessions
18 Mar 2025
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Children’s Social Care
Fran Oram · Department for Education Janet Daby MP · The Department for Education
11 Feb 2025
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Children’s Social Care
Dan Turnbull · Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Georgia Sullivan Jake Hartley Lamar Mohsen Louise Fitt Mr Sam Turner · Kinship Mrs Denise Rawls · The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) Roger Gough · The County Councils Network (CCN)
21 Jan 2025
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Children’s Social Care
Andy Smith · Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) Anna Edmundson · National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Annie Hudson · Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel Claire Throssell MBE Lynn Perry MBE · Barnardo’s Rob Williams · National Association of Head Teachers
17 Dec 2024
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Children’s Social Care
Councillor Arooj Shah · Local Government Association (LGA) Dr Mark Kerr · Children’s Homes Association Harriet Edwards · Sense James Bury · CoramBAAF Jo Harrison · National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) Katharine Sacks-Jones · Become Maris Stratulis · British Association of Social Workers England Matthew Horne · Innovation Unit
30 Apr 2024
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Children’s social care
Annie Hudson · Child Safeguarding Review Panel Ms Katie Ghose · Kids Professor Michelle McManus, Professor of Safeguarding and Violence Prevention Stephen Kingdom · Disabled Children’s Partnership Tina Emory OBE · National Network of Parent Carer Forums Yvette Stanley · Ofsted
16 Apr 2024
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Children's Social Care (3/5)
Emily Frith · Adoption UK Lucille Allain · Association of Professors of Social Work Lucy Peake · Kinship Mary Jackson · Frontline Matt Clayton · Coventry City Council Sarah Thomas · The Fostering Network
26 Mar 2024
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Children’s social care
Dan Turnbull · Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Dr Mark Kerr · Children’s Homes Association John Pearce · Association of Directors of Children’s Services Mr Andrew Isaac · Children’s Services Development Group Ms Lucy Croxton · Together Trust Roger Gough · The County Councils Network (CCN) Stuart Ashley · Hampshire County Council
27 Feb 2024
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Children’s social care
Dinithi Wijedasa · Bristol University Dr Ray Jones · Kingston University June Thoburn CBE · University of East Anglia Katharine Sacks-Jones · Become Lynn Perry MBE · Barnardo’s Will McMahon · Care Leavers’ Association
Title HC No. Published Items Response
4th Report - Children’s social care HC 430 10 Jul 2025 78 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
45 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Require Department for Education to issue comprehensive response to Children’s Social Care Review by year-end.
By the end of this year, the Department for Education must issue a comprehensive response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care which was published over three years ago. This should set out which recommendations have already been taken … Read more
Government Response
The government commits over £2 billion over the current spending review period, including £1.57 billion for the Families First Partnership Programme rolling out from April 2025, and will update Parliament on implementation plans and timelines for legislative and non-legislative reforms.
Department for Education
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3 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Care-experienced young people's voices vital and require broader inclusion across government levels.
We were privileged to hear powerful and insightful evidence from care-experienced young people in this inquiry, and their voices have informed many of the conclusions and recommendations in this report. We are pleased that the Department is regularly hearing from … Read more
Government Response
The government details its existing mechanisms for engaging care-experienced young people, including the Children and Young People Board and regular meetings with Ministers, and highlights local authorities' duties to seek feedback.
Department for Education
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4 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Ensure care-experienced young people's full engagement and involvement in social care accountability mechanisms.
The Department should ensure that it is engaging with care-experienced young people in all areas of its work on children’s social care and should encourage local authorities to do the same. The Department for Education, 82 Ofsted and the Care … Read more
Government Response
The government details its existing mechanisms for engaging care-experienced young people, including the Children and Young People Board and Ministerial meetings, and highlights existing local authority duties and Ofsted practices in inspections.
Department for Education
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5 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Early intervention funding remains insufficient despite welcome grants, requiring urgent additional resources.
The Government’s focus on early intervention is the right one and long overdue. The additional £270 million provided through the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant is welcome but falls far short of the £1.2 billion that has been removed from … Read more
Government Response
The government details substantial new and continued funding commitments for prevention and early intervention, including a £300 million increase for the Families First Partnership Programme and a total £555 million investment, directly addressing the need for further resources. It also agrees on publishing data on early intervention spending.
Department for Education
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7 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Publish annual data on children's social care funding allocated to early intervention programmes.
The Department for Education and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government should publish annual data on the proportion of children’s social care funding allocated to early intervention programmes compared with later-stage interventions so that progress on this can … Read more
Government Response
The government states that DfE already publishes statistics on non-Children Looked After spending on its Children’s social care dashboard, providing data to compare early and later-stage interventions, and proposes to use this metric in a new Local Government Outcomes Framework.
Department for Education
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8 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Monitor and report on family group decision-making impact, considering extension to earlier stages.
We welcome the Department’s commitment to working with domestic abuse charities when developing its guidance for family group decision-making (FGDM). The Department should monitor the impact of the new requirement and, after one year, report back to this Committee as … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to continue developing best practice guidance for Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) and to monitor its impact through the Families First Partnership Programme's oversight arrangements and annual local authority data collection after the new legal duty commences.
Department for Education
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12 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Develop comprehensive strategy for children at risk of extra-familial harm, including professional training.
The Department for Education must put in place a strategy for supporting children and young people at risk of extra-familial harm. This should include: better training for professionals to spot and respond to extra- familial risks; ensuring that young people … Read more
Government Response
The government outlines a multi-pronged strategy including updated statutory guidance, multi-agency Practice Principles, embedding reforms through the Families First Partnership Programme, committing to specialist training for professionals, and strengthening multi-agency working through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Department for Education
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13 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Require Government to implement bold Child Poverty Strategy to significantly reduce children's financial hardship.
We urge the Government to be bold in its upcoming Child Poverty Strategy and take wide-ranging action to reverse this trend and significantly reduce the number of children growing up in financial hardship. (Recommendation, Paragraph 29)
Government Response
The government will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in autumn and is already undertaking several specific actions, including expanding Free School Meals, investing in social care and housing, and extending the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme, to address child poverty.
Department for Education
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15 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Additional funding for children's social care welcomed, but full implementation funding gap remains.
We warmly welcome the additional funding for children’s social care and capital investment in children’s homes announced at the recent Spending Review, which will be an important step forward in working towards the amount recommended by the Independent Review of … Read more
Government Response
The government states it is investing over £2 billion in children's social care reform this parliament, meeting the funding level recommended by the Independent Review, and will continue to monitor implementation.
Department for Education
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18 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Data on reasons for out-of-area placements is essential for understanding and change.
We disagree with the Department’s view that data on the reasons for out- of-area placements are not needed. While data collection itself may not directly lead to improvements, it is essential to fully understand the nature and scale of the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the importance of data for out-of-area placements and commits to improving the evidence base by collecting data on the reasons for such placements, focusing on consistent, timely, and robust collection to distinguish between interest-based and capacity-driven placements.
Department for Education
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20 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Collect DfE data distinguishing out-of-area child placements by reasons of interest versus capacity.
The Department for Education should collect data on the proportion of children who are placed out of area because it is in their own interests compared with those placed out of area due to capacity issues, so that the situation … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation, committing to improving the evidence base and collecting data on the reasons for out-of-area placements, specifically distinguishing between those made in a child’s best interests and those due to capacity issues.
Department for Education
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21 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Children's social care market is failing due to excessive profits and provider financial risk.
The children’s social care market is not delivering for children or for local authorities. We are particularly concerned at the reports of excessive profits being made by some providers and the risk of financial failure among large providers. We hope … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the committee's conclusion, outlining actions to address market failures, including giving Ofsted greater powers, establishing accountability mechanisms for providers, strengthening financial oversight, and committing to cap profits if profiteering continues.
Department for Education
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22 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Proposed social care profit cap lacks parliamentary scrutiny and transparency.
The proposed profit cap has the potential to be a useful tool for the Department if needed, but we do not think it is acceptable for the Department to introduce this significant intervention in the market with 85 only limited … Read more
Government Response
The government addresses concerns about scrutiny and transparency of the profit cap, stating it would be introduced via secondary legislation and transparency regulations, both subject to parliamentary scrutiny, and notes a technical consultation on the powers has been published.
Department for Education
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23 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Consult fully with the sector and consider geography for effective future Regional Care Co-operatives.
We are supportive of the move towards regional commissioning but note that the model of Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) being implemented has yet to be evaluated or proven to work. When developing any further RCCs, the Department for Education must … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation, agreeing that further RCCs should be informed by local context and strong engagement with stakeholders, committing to a collaborative and iterative approach based on rigorous evaluation and continuous feedback.
Department for Education
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24 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Set out plan to monitor children's social care market reforms and update Parliament annually.
The Department for Education should set out how it will monitor the impact of its reforms to the children’s social care market and commit to updating Parliament on an annual basis on the impact they are having. (Recommendation, Paragraph 59)
Government Response
The government commits to closely monitoring the impact of its children's social care market reforms, updating Parliament on their progress in the usual way, and sharing formal evaluation reports with the Committee as they are published.
Department for Education
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25 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Consult fully with regional organisations on RCC boundaries and ensure local authority flexibility.
If and when any further Regional Care Co-operatives are developed, the Department for Education must consult fully with relevant individuals and organisations in the region, particularly as to the areas covered by the proposed RCC. In cases where there is … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation, agreeing that further RCCs should be informed by local context and strong engagement, committing to a collaborative, flexible, and iterative approach based on evaluation and feedback to ensure RCCs meet diverse local needs.
Department for Education
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26 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Assess necessity of a profit cap for children's social care providers and consult Committee.
The Department for Education must set out how it will assess whether a profit cap on children’s social care providers is necessary. If the Department decides to introduce a profit cap, it must consult this Committee on the draft regulations … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to assessing the necessity of a profit cap only if other market interventions fail, by monitoring profit levels, market state, and placement data. It also commits to consulting the Committee on draft regulations should a profit cap be introduced.
Department for Education
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27 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Severe shortage of foster carers exacerbated by inadequate support and undervalued work.
The shortage of foster carers is a key cause in the crisis in the supply of placements for children in care, with an additional 6,500 fostering families needed. Yet too many prospective foster carers do not complete the application and … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the committee's conclusion, committing to significant investment of £25 million through the Transformation Fund for recruitment and retention, capital investment for foster carer homes, and developing a national Foster Care Statement of Expectations to improve support and consistency.
Department for Education
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28 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Positive innovations and good practice, including Mockingbird model, support foster carers.
There are many positive examples of innovation and good practice in local authorities to support foster carers. In particular, we heard clear support for the Mockingbird model and were interested to hear of the Room Makers scheme to enable carers … Read more
Government Response
The government reiterates its commitment to supporting foster carers, investing £25 million via the Transformation Fund for recruitment and retention, capital investment for homes (related to the Room Makers scheme), and developing a national Foster Care Statement of Expectations.
Department for Education
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30 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Fund Mockingbird constellations and align housing policy to boost foster carer recruitment.
The Department for Education should fund the planned recruitment hubs to set up Mockingbird constellations in every local authority. The Department should work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that housing policy is designed to … Read more
Government Response
The government states that existing social housing allocation schemes already allow councils to prioritise foster carers for larger homes and that capital funding supports renovations for foster care homes. They do not commit to funding Mockingbird recruitment hubs or specifically address the 'Room Makers' programme or the planning system recommendations.
Department for Education
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32 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Strengthen legislation for sibling contact, collect and annually publish data on separation.
The Department should strengthen the legislation relating to sibling contact to ensure that children in care are placed with siblings whenever it is in their best interests, and that where they cannot be placed together, regular contact between siblings is … Read more
Government Response
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will place a duty on local authorities to assess sibling relationships and support contact or placement together. The department is exploring options for collecting data on sibling separation and contact.
Department for Education
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33 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Kinship care is essential, but carers require adequate financial and employment support.
Kinship care is an essential part of the care system and the evidence is clear that children in kinship care have an overall better experience than children in other types of care. We welcome the Department for Education’s focus on … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to delivering a Kinship Financial Allowance Pilot as part of a larger £555 million investment and stated it is continuing to invest £40 million to support kinship care.
Department for Education
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34 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Ensure kinship allowance pilot provides financial support equivalent to foster carers.
In its upcoming pilot of a kinship allowance, the Department for Education should ensure that the financial support is on a par with that given to foster carers. It must evaluate the pilot at the earliest opportunity and roll it … Read more
Government Response
The government will launch a £40 million pilot kinship allowance in autumn 2025, providing support to 5,000 children at the same rate as foster care. The pilot will be independently evaluated concurrently, and findings will inform future national rollout decisions.
Department for Education
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37 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Adopted children's early trauma impact on education receives insufficient recognition and support.
There is too little recognition of the impact of the early trauma and separation experienced by adopted children, and of the support they need to thrive in education and beyond, with over half of adopted children feeling that they didn’t … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of supporting adopted children, highlighting its commitment to the £50 million Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF), which is confirmed until 2026-27, and an £8.8 million investment in Adoption England for new support plans.
Department for Education
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38 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Review educational support for adopted and previously looked-after children, including statutory framework.
The Department for Education should review the educational support available to adopted children, assessing the impact of the extension of policies to previously looked-after children and whether any further extensions are needed. This review should include: the introduction of a … Read more
Government Response
The government will issue updated statutory guidance for Virtual School Heads and designated teachers, providing a clear framework and updated sections on previously looked-after children. However, it will not extend VSHs' statutory duties beyond advisory at this stage.
Department for Education
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41 Recommendation Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
High-quality residential care is essential, requiring improved workforce recruitment and training.
We agree that, for most children, a focus on supporting them to live in a family setting is the right one; however, this should not come at the expense of developing and maintaining high-quality residential care for children who need … Read more
Government Response
The government details multiple steps to improve the children's home workforce, including improving the manager registration process, using workforce data to understand challenges, exploring capital funding for provision, and committing to review qualifications, standards, and training access for the sector.
Department for Education
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43 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Review children's home staff qualifications and introduce minimum standards for residential childcare workers.
The Department should use its children’s home workforce census to review the levels of qualifications currently held by residential staff. It should also consult on introducing minimum qualification standards for residential childcare workers and work with local authorities to assess … Read more
Government Response
The government has committed to reviewing qualifications, standards, and access to training for the children’s homes workforce in consultation with the sector.
Department for Education
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48 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Mental health support for children in care is currently falling far short of needs.
Children in care have experienced trauma, abuse and neglect, and they are over four times more likely to suffer from emotional or mental health problems than their peers. It is therefore essential that there is a strong system in place … Read more
Government Response
The government recognises the critical need for mental health support, detailing commitments to pilot multi-disciplinary approaches in 2025-26, review and update statutory guidance on health and wellbeing for looked-after children, expand the mental health workforce by 8,500 staff, and fund a training pilot for mental health support teams.
Department for Education
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49 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Prioritise mental health support for children in care and pilot co-located CAMHS services.
The Department for Education should work with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that children in care and care leavers are prioritised for mental health support and improve training for mental health practitioners on the impact of … Read more
Government Response
The government is piloting a multi-disciplinary approach in the South-East in 2025-26 to inform future pilots, including potential co-located mental health services. It is also reviewing statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children to improve mental health support and trauma training.
Department for Education
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50 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Strengthen the role of mental health in health assessments for children in care.
The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care should take forward this Committee’s recommendation to strengthen the role of mental health and emotional wellbeing in health assessments of children in care, ensuring that there is proper, … Read more
Government Response
The government is reviewing and updating statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children, specifically to strengthen the role of mental health in health assessments and ensure clearer accountability.
Department for Education
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51 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Too few children, especially disabled, access entitled independent advocacy support in care.
It is essential that children in care have a voice when important decisions are being made about their lives. Currently, too few children are accessing the advocacy support they are entitled to, with an average referral rate of just 5% … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to introducing new National Standards for Advocacy for Children and Young People and revised statutory guidance in 2025, including new standards on non-instructed advocacy and safeguarding.
Department for Education
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52 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Introduce opt-out independent advocacy for all children in care, including disabled children.
The Department for Education must take forward the recommendation of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care to introduce an opt-out model of independent advocacy for all children in care. It must also act 90 on the Child Safeguarding Practice … Read more
Government Response
The government will introduce new National Standards for Advocacy for Children and Young People and revised statutory guidance in 2025, including new standards on non-instructed advocacy and safeguarding.
Department for Education
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53 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Effective reunification with birth families positively supports children leaving care.
When done carefully and effectively, reunification of children with their birth families can be a positive way of supporting children to leave care. (Conclusion, Paragraph 132)
Government Response
The government highlighted its £500 million investment in Family Help and multi-agency child protection, which is expected to support safe family reunification. It also committed to publishing a practice guide for reunification in summer 2026, building on existing regulations.
Department for Education
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54 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Evaluate existing reunification practices and publish national guidance based on local authority good practice.
The Department for Education should evaluate existing reunification practice and publish national guidance on reunification, drawing on the good practice that already exists in many local authorities. (Recommendation, Paragraph 133) Disabled children’s care Read more
Government Response
The government has commissioned Foundations to develop a practice guide for reunification, due to be published in summer 2026. It also notes that existing regulations already provide direction and believes whole system change will have a greater impact than additional guidance.
Department for Education
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55 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Disabled children are overlooked in social care, lacking access to essential short breaks.
Too often, disabled children are overlooked in the social care system. Parents struggle to understand and access the support available and face a confusing “postcode lottery” of support between local authorities. There is an urgent need to improve access to … Read more
Government Response
The government referenced an existing 2011 statutory duty on local authorities to provide short breaks and noted that a Short Breaks Innovation Programme concluded in March 2025, with a report due in autumn 2025. It largely described existing frameworks and past initiatives without committing to new urgent actions to address unmet needs.
Department for Education
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59 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Conduct review of disabled children’s short breaks availability and fund local authority provision.
The Department should conduct a review of the availability of short breaks, respite care and holiday provision for disabled children to understand where the shortages are most acute. It should work with the Ministry of Housing, 91 Communities and Local … Read more
Government Response
The government states local authorities already have a statutory duty to provide short breaks and fund them via core budgets. It also mentions a past innovation programme and that a report on lessons learned will be published in autumn 2025, but does not commit to a new review of availability or direct funding for local authorities.
Department for Education
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60 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Ensure specialist disabled children workforce inclusion in strategy and review social worker training.
The Department should ensure that the specialist workforce for disabled children is included in the children’s social care workforce strategy that we have recommended. The Department must review the training provided to children and families social workers and ensure that … Read more
Government Response
The government is supporting the children's social care workforce, including through the Families First Partnership Programme for training pathways. It has also consulted on new post-qualifying standards and induction support focusing on practice areas like working with disabled children and their families, and is reviewing qualifications and training access for residential care.
Department for Education
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61 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Child protection reforms welcomed, requiring careful monitoring and better data on abuse prevalence.
The Department for Education’s reforms to child protection through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill are welcome and go some way towards alleviating many of the concerns we have heard in this inquiry. There will be a need for careful … Read more
Government Response
The government is collaborating with the ONS to develop the Safety During Childhood survey, piloting it in 2025-26 with results expected late 2026-2027, to gather better data on child safety and abuse. They are also discussing future funding and will continue to explore opportunities for progress.
Department for Education
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62 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Establish clear processes for reviewing and escalating multi-agency child safeguarding disagreements.
Multi-agency working is crucial in child safeguarding processes. Where there is disagreement between children’s social care and other agencies such as health, police and education on a safeguarding matter, there must be clear processes in place to review and escalate … Read more
Government Response
The government affirms that clear escalation processes are essential, citing existing frameworks like 'Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023'. They also highlight new Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams being introduced via the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and funding for National Safeguarding Partner Facilitators to strengthen collaboration and accountability.
Department for Education
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64 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Rising child neglect linked to poverty lacks clear DfE strategy and social care response.
Neglect is sadly on the rise in England and is clearly linked to poverty and poor parental mental health. The Department for Education does not appear to have a clear strategy for addressing neglect and there are concerns that the … Read more
Government Response
The government states that tackling child neglect is a key part of the children’s social care reform programme, embedded in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. They describe multiple initiatives including Family Help, multi-agency reforms, early intervention, equipping professionals, and a commitment to reducing child poverty, to address the issue.
Department for Education
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65 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Put in place a national strategy to reduce the incidence of child neglect.
The Department for Education must put in place a national neglect strategy to set out how it will reduce the incidence of neglect. (Recommendation, Paragraph 161) 92
Government Response
The government states that tackling child neglect is integrated into its broader children’s social care reform programme and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. They outline current and forthcoming initiatives like Family Help and multi-agency reforms, indicating these measures collectively constitute their approach rather than committing to a distinct, separate national neglect strategy.
Department for Education
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67 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Urgent need to implement IICSA recommendations as mandatory reporting is limited.
There is an urgent need to take forward the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The introduction of the mandatory reporting duty is an important step forward, but it is limited in scope to instances of a … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms the Mandatory Reporting Duty, outlined in the Crime and Policing Bill, is progressing and will come into force one year post-Royal Assent. They commit to working with regulators to communicate the duty and are implementing wider training improvements for social workers and other professionals in child protection and specialist child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Department for Education
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68 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Improve training and guidance for child sexual abuse reporting and implement robust IICSA duty.
The Department for Education should improve training and guidance around reporting of child sexual abuse and work jointly with the Home Office towards implementing the more robust mandatory reporting duty recommended by IICSA, ensuring that the sector is well-prepared for … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms the Mandatory Reporting Duty is progressing through Parliament and will come into force one year after Royal Assent, committing to work with regulators to ensure clear communication. They also outline substantial plans to improve training for social workers and other professionals, including new standards, induction programmes, and specialist training in child protection and child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Department for Education
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71 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Ensure new inspection system supports complex needs placements and provides clear provider guidance.
Ofsted and the Department for Education should ensure that the inspection system that replaces single-word judgements does not penalise providers who take on children with complex needs, while also ensuring that children with complex needs are placed in settings with … Read more
Government Response
The government is amending legislation to allow deprivation of liberty in more settings and is launching a test-and-learn project to improve placements for children with complex needs. They also confirm continued collaboration with Ofsted as it removes single-headline judgements across its remits, including children's social care, aiming to drive better outcomes for children and families.
Department for Education
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75 Conclusion Accepted
4th Report - Children’s social care
Develop a National Care Offer ensuring minimum, harmonised support for care leavers nationwide.
As a priority, the Department for Education must develop a National Care Offer to harmonise the postcode lottery in entitlements and ensure that care leavers receive a minimum level of support, wherever they live. (Recommendation, Paragraph 194)
Government Response
The government outlines the existing core package of support for care leavers under the Children Act 1989, which includes a Personal Adviser, accommodation, and financial support. It states that the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will strengthen this by requiring local authorities to offer Staying Close support, and a new website has launched to improve awareness.
Department for Education
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Government Response AI assessment · 78 of 14 classified
Accepted 45
Accepted in Part 6
Acknowledged 15
Deferred 5
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 4
Total 14 recs + 64 conclusions
Correspondence 5 letters
15 Jul 2025 To committee Letter from Minister for Children and Families on New Children's Homes dated 09.07.25
Parliament page
23 Apr 2025 To committee Letter from Minister for Children and Families on Children's Social Care, dated 08.04.25
Parliament page
8 Apr 2025 From committee Letter to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Children and Families) on Children's Social Care, dated 24.03.25
Parliament page
7 Jan 2025 To committee letter from Maris Stratulis, National Director, BASW England on Children's Social Care, dated 02.01.25
Parliament page
24 May 2024 Correspondence to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing on the Committee's inquiry into Children's social care
Parliament page