WATE-(65) Response Historic AI-assessed

Local authorities prepare costed development plans for children's services provision

Recommendation

Local authorities, in collaboration with voluntary and other relevant organisations and acting together with other local authorities where appropriate, should prepare costed development plans for children's services as a prelude to the proposed nationwide review, such plans to ensure (amongst other things) that:37, 62(iii) (a) there is an adequate range of residential care provision of appropriate quality, including secure provision, within reasonable reach of a child's family or other relevant roots;Para 54.21 (b) such residential provision includes safe places where children can recover when relationships break down; (c) as in (a), there is an adequate range of fostering facilities available of similar quality and accessibility;Para 54.23 (d) all residential placements are designed to be developmental and therapeutic rather than merely custodial; (e) full educational opportunities are available for looked after children, including remedial education.24, 58(v)

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
No specific published evidence relating to local authorities preparing costed development plans for children's services provision has been identified in the provided official sources. Searches on gov.uk for 'Waterhouse Inquiry recommendation implementation' and 'Waterhouse Inquiry government response' returned results, but their content was not provided. A search on legislation.gov.uk for 'Waterhouse Inquiry' yielded no direct legislative results.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Historic

No government response recorded.

Source
Report Waterhouse Inquiry — Final Report 16 Feb 2000
Recommendation age 26.1 yrs
Last formal update No formal updates