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
15 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Children’s social care problems persist and worsen without comprehensive reform following the Independent Review.
Evidence given to the Committee during our inquiry indicates that many of the problems highlighted by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in 2022 persist, and in a significant number of cases have worsened since the Review. Increases in … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's findings on the rising need, costs, and poor outcomes in children's social care. It states it is taking urgent action through substantial investment, new legislation, and the Families First Partnership Programme.
Department for Education
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10 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Rising care numbers demand cross-departmental action to address external contributing factors.
The pressure caused by rising numbers of children coming into care is putting serious strain on the system. The only way to effectively reduce these numbers is to address the factors outside the care system which are contributing to this … Read more
Government Response
The government states its commitment to reducing children in care through investment in family help and preventative services. It also details new market management measures via the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and pledges to work across government on sufficiency, with further details to be published.
Department for Education
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11 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Social security reforms risk increasing child poverty; delayed strategy hinders scrutiny.
We are deeply concerned about the Government’s planned reforms to social security set out in the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, which are set to drive up child poverty and will further … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the concern about child poverty, confirms its Child Poverty Strategy will be published in the autumn, and explains the rationale and consultation process for the Pathways to Work proposals, stating no decisions have been made yet.
Department for Education
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14 Recommendation Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Mandate DWP to involve disabled children, young carers, and care leavers in Timms Review.
Following the changes agreed to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill on 1 July 2025, we recommend that the Department for Work and Pensions ensures the involvement of organisations working with disabled children, young carers and care leavers … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to concluding the Timms Review by autumn 2026 and to involving disabled people and their organisations. While planning how to best engage disabled children, young carers, and care leavers, the specifics of their co-production are still being designed.
Department for Education
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17 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Out-of-area placements traumatise children, despite some local authorities limiting numbers.
Too many children are being sent many miles from home, which has a traumatic and lasting impact on their lives. We were saddened to hear that a care-experienced young person had chosen not to pursue higher education as a direct … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the concern about out-of-area placements, outlining investments in family help and new market management measures through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, with further details on sufficiency to be published.
Department for Education
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29 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Establish a national fostering strategy, consult on national register, and review financial support.
The Department for Education must put in place a national fostering strategy to complement the existing strategies for adoption and kinship care. As part of this, it should consult on introducing a national register of foster carers and review the … Read more
Government Response
The government is considering a national register of foster carers and will engage stakeholders, but has not committed to introducing one. They state they already annually review and uplift the National Minimum Allowance for foster carers, and do not explicitly address a national fostering strategy.
Department for Education
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35 Recommendation Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Legislate for statutory kinship leave, ensuring equal entitlements to adoptive parents.
It was a missed opportunity not to include statutory kinship leave in the recent Employment Rights Bill. The Government should ensure that entitlements to kinship leave are included in its forthcoming review of the parental leave system and legislate for … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to including kinship carers in its review of the parental leave system, considering whether support meets their needs, but does not commit to legislating for statutory kinship leave. They also highlight existing employer guidance and their own departmental policy for kinship carers.
Department for Education
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39 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Uncertainty surrounds Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund continuation and reduced funding limits.
It is unacceptable that the continuation of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund was not announced until 1 April 2025, leaving families and children uncertain about the future of their support. We also note many concerns about the new … Read more
Government Response
The government confirmed the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will continue for 2026-27 and will monitor the impact of recent funding limit changes. It highlighted existing investments and the rollout of an Adoption Support Plan, but provided no specific new plan for mental health support as requested.
Department for Education
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42 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Ensure all children's homes are led by registered managers; launch recruitment campaign.
The Department for Education must ensure that all children’s homes are led by a registered manager and set out the steps it intends to take to achieve this. Additionally, it should launch a recruitment campaign to raise the profile of … Read more
Government Response
The government stated it is already a legal requirement for children's homes to have registered managers and is improving the registration process. While acknowledging the need to raise the profile of residential care roles, it is still exploring data and considering further steps rather than committing to a recruitment campaign.
Department for Education
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47 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Develop comprehensive workforce strategy to improve recruitment, retention, and training across children's social care.
The Department for Education should develop a workforce strategy for children’s social care setting out how it will improve recruitment, retention and training across the children’s social care workforce, including social workers, residential care workers, personal advisers, educational psychologists, health … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledged the importance of the workforce and described ongoing initiatives like the Families First Partnership Programme, graduate training, and reviews of post-qualifying standards and residential care qualifications. However, it did not commit to developing an overarching workforce strategy or new measures such as increased pay or bursaries, stating pay and staffing remain local authority responsibility.
Department for Education
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63 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Make funding available for a national survey on different types of child abuse and neglect.
The Department for Education should make funding available for a national survey on the prevalence of the different types of abuse and neglect, to improve its understanding of these issues and inform the development of future policy interventions. (Recommendation, Paragraph … Read more
Government Response
The government will continue working with ONS and other bodies to explore further opportunities to strengthen the evidence base on abuse and neglect, without committing to funding a national survey.
Department for Education
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66 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Integrate neglect reduction measures and parental support into Child Poverty Strategy with a broader approach.
The Department should ensure that measures to reduce neglect and support parents with poor mental health and drug and alcohol addictions are considered as part of its Child Poverty Strategy and recognise that poverty is not the only circumstance in … Read more
Government Response
The government recognises the link between deprivation and neglect and states the Child Poverty Taskforce is considering parents across the UK in its child poverty strategy. It also highlights existing support through the Families First Partnership Programme and the Healthy Child programme.
Department for Education
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69 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Regulatory gaps persist, including child handcuffing and Ofsted ratings deterring complex needs placements.
The Department for Education has made some welcome steps towards increasing Ofsted’s powers of intervention in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. However, some key gaps in regulation remain, most notably the worrying practice of using handcuffs to transport children … Read more
Government Response
The government clarifies that children’s homes regulations permit restraint only for preventing injury, damage, or absconding, and must be necessary and proportionate. While these regulations currently apply only to children's home staff, the government states it considers these principles should be adhered to across all children’s social care, but does not address concerns about Ofsted ratings penalizing providers.
Department for Education
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76 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Improve financial and housing support for care leavers, including Universal Credit and bursaries.
The Department for Education should work with other relevant departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions, to review the financial and housing support available to care leavers and improve it … Read more
Government Response
The government has re-established the Care Leaver Ministerial Board to coordinate support. While mentioning a general Universal Credit increase and existing local authority schemes for financial support, it does not commit to a specific review of financial and housing support for care leavers with a 2025 publication deadline or to the recommended specific increases or schemes. It is reviewing how to ensure more care leavers can access local support.
Department for Education
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78 Recommendation Acknowledged
4th Report - Children’s social care
Commission independent evaluation on designating care experience a protected characteristic.
The Department for Education should commission an independent evaluation of the impact of designating care experience a protected characteristic in those areas where local authorities have adopted this, to assess the impact of this on the extent and quality of … Read more
Government Response
The government notes that new corporate parenting responsibilities will be introduced via the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to tackle stigma against care leavers. It states it will continue to monitor the impact where local authorities have adopted care experience as a protected characteristic, but does not commit to commissioning an independent evaluation.
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