Underinvestment in Children's Social Care
Historical underinvestment in children's social care, impacting family support and increasing reliance on family court interventions.
132 items
1 source
7 inquiries
Source spread
Where this theme appears
Underinvestment in Children's Social Care has been flagged across 1 independent accountability source:
132 inquiry recs
This theme has been identified in one data source. As more data is added, cross-references may emerge.
Browse by source
Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Inquiry Recommendations (132) — showing 50 strongest matches
86 — Review CSA support services expenditure (England)
Recommendation: The Chair and Panel recommend that the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office work together to establish current levels of public expenditure, and the effectiveness of that expenditure …
Gov response: The Government agrees that more clarity is needed on the effectiveness of public expenditure on services for victims of child sexual abuse. The Government will present findings to the Inquiry within one year.
Accepted
15 — Research high child remand population
Recommendation: The Inquiry was told that children should only be placed in custody as a last resort. However, it was concerned to hear evidence that some children are remanded in custody because of a lack of appropriate community provision. Given that …
Gov response: On 26 January 2022, the Ministry of Justice published its Review of Custodial Remand for Children. The review's findings challenged the narrative that remand is overused and highlighted several factors that have impacted the increase …
Accepted
FR-16 — Specialist Therapeutic Support
Recommendation: The Inquiry recommends that the UK government and the Welsh Government introduce a national guarantee that child victims of sexual abuse will be offered specialist and accredited therapeutic support. There should be sufficient supply of these services so that children …
Gov response: We accept that victims and survivors must be able to access effective systems for provision of therapeutic support. We will elicit views on the future of therapeutic support, including possible systemic changes to provision, through …
Accepted in Part
No update 2+ yrs
WATE-(11) — Require field social workers to visit looked after children every eight weeks
Recommendation: Field social workers should be required by regulation to visit any looked after child for whom they are responsible not less than once every eight weeks916. In the case of older children, they should be required also to see the …
Unknown
LAMI-62 — Implement single agreed guidance for hospital social workers with out-of-area children
Recommendation: Where hospital-based social work staff come into contact with children from other local authority areas, the directors of social services of their employing authorities must ensure that they work to a single set of guidance agreed by all the authorities …
Unknown
LAMI-61 — Ensure hospital social workers participate in all child safeguarding hospital meetings
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that hospital social workers participate in all hospital meetings concerned with the safeguarding of children.
Unknown
LAMI-60 — Line manage hospital social workers within children and families' services section
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that hospital social workers working with children and families are line managed by the children and families’ section of their social services department.
Unknown
LAMI-59 — Provide single-source, up-to-date guidance and monitor adherence for staff
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that staff working with vulnerable children and families are provided with up-to-date procedures, protocols and guidance. Such practice guidance must be located in a single-source document. The work should be monitored so as to …
Unknown
LAMI-58 — Require a properly maintained chronology in every child's case file
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that every child’s case file includes, on the inside of the front cover, a properly maintained chronology.
Unknown
LAMI-57 — Ensure social workers can access international information on vulnerable children
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that social work staff are made aware of how to access effectively information concerning vulnerable children which may be held in other countries.
Unknown
LAMI-56 — Prevent discharge of hospitalised children with concerns until home is safe
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that no child known to social services who is an inpatient in a hospital and about whom there are child protection concerns is allowed to be taken home until it has been established by …
Unknown
LAMI-55 — Define 'allocated' cases as those with active social worker engagement
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that only those cases in which a social worker is actively engaged in work with a child and the child’s family are deemed to be ‘allocated’.
Unknown
LAMI-54 — Allocate social workers to all children's cases or report unallocated cases monthly
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that all cases of children assessed as needing a service have an allocated social worker. In cases where this proves to be impossible, arrangements must be made to maintain contact with the child. The …
Unknown
LAMI-53 — Managers must ensure social workers understand allocated cases, actions, and supervision
Recommendation: When allocating a case to a social worker, the manager must ensure that the social worker is clear as to what has been allocated, what action is required and how that action will be reviewed and supervised.
Unknown
LAMI-52 — Allocate cases only when social workers have adequate training, experience, and time
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that no case is allocated to a social worker unless and until his or her manager ensures that he or she has the necessary training, experience and time to deal with it properly.
Unknown
LAMI-51 — Ensure strategy meetings include action points, records, and review mechanisms
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that all strategy meetings and discussions involve the following three basic steps: • A list of action points must be drawn up, each with an agreed timescale and the identity of the person responsible …
Unknown
LAMI-50 — Implement systems to action communications during social services staff absence
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that when staff are absent from work, systems are in place to ensure that post, emails and telephone contacts are checked and actioned as necessary.
Unknown
LAMI-49 — Review cases and meet professionals when other agencies raise concerns
Recommendation: When a professional from another agency expresses concern to social services about their handling of a particular case, the file must be read and reviewed, the professional concerned must be met and spoken to, and the outcome of this discussion …
Unknown
LAMI-48 — Require social worker agreement and record purpose for all agency referrals
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that when children and families are referred to other agencies for additional services, that referral is only made with the agreement of the allocated social worker and/or their manager. The purpose of the referral …
Unknown
LAMI-47 — Provide 24/7 specialist services for children and families, separate from general teams
Recommendation: The chief executive of each local authority with social services responsibilities must ensure that specialist services are available to respond to the needs of children and families 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The safeguarding of children should …
Unknown
LAMI-46 — Ensure clear understanding of child protection adviser roles across children's services
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that the roles and responsibilities of child protection advisers (and those employed in similar posts) are clearly understood by all those working within children’s services.
Unknown
LAMI-45 — Ensure regular supervision of staff working with children, including case file review
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that the work of staff working directly with children is regularly supervised. This must include the supervisor reading, reviewing and signing the case file at regular intervals.
Unknown
LAMI-44 — Conduct six-monthly reviews of temporary staff promotions and record outcomes
Recommendation: When staff are temporarily promoted to fill vacancies, directors of social services must subject such arrangements to six-monthly reviews and record the outcome.
Unknown
LAMI-43 — Mandate training for Section 47 inquiries and audit staff for compliance
Recommendation: No social worker shall undertake section 47 inquiries unless he or she has been trained to do so. Directors of social services must undertake an audit of staff currently carrying out section 47 inquiries to identify gaps in training and …
Unknown
LAMI-42 — Implement systems to detect failures in internal social services case transfers
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that where the procedures of a social services department stipulate requirements for the transfer of a case between teams within the department, systems are in place to detect when such a transfer does not …
Unknown
LAMI-41 — Require senior managers and councillors to regularly visit children's intake teams
Recommendation: Chief executives of local authorities with social services responsibilities must make arrangements for senior managers and councillors to regularly visit intake teams in their children’s services department, and to report their findings to the chief executive and social services committee.
Unknown
LAMI-40 — Establish mandatory steps for closing child harm cases, including welfare plan
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that no case that has been opened in response to allegations of deliberate harm to a child is closed until the following steps have been taken: • The child has been spoken to alone. …
Unknown
LAMI-39 — Train front-line staff to promptly record and transfer child safety calls
Recommendation: All front-line staff within local authorities must be trained to pass all calls about the safety of children through to the appropriate duty team without delay, having first recorded the name of the child, his or her address, and the …
Unknown
LAMI-38 — Ensure inter-departmental case transfers are recorded and confirmed in writing
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that the transfer of responsibility of a case between local authority social services departments is always recorded on the case file of each authority, and is confirmed in writing by the authority to which …
Unknown
LAMI-37 — Train social workers to confidently challenge other professionals' opinions on child needs
Recommendation: The training of social workers must equip them with the confidence to question the opinion of professionals in other agencies when conducting their own assessment of the needs of the child.
Unknown
LAMI-36 — Require legal advice before emergency child harm action, ensure 24-hour availability
Recommendation: No emergency action on a case concerning an allegation of deliberate harm to a child should be taken without first obtaining legal advice. Local authorities must ensure that such legal advice is available 24 hours a day.
Unknown
LAMI-35 — Ensure children subject to harm allegations are seen within 24 hours
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that children who are the subject of allegations of deliberate harm are seen and spoken to within 24 hours of the allegation being communicated to social services. If this timescale is not met, the …
Unknown
LAMI-34 — Standardise social worker home visits: clarify purpose, check records, document findings
Recommendation: Social workers must not undertake home visits without being clear about the purpose of the visit, the information to be gathered during the course of it, and the steps to be taken if no one is at home. No visits …
Unknown
LAMI-33 — Establish 24-hour public referral line for child concerns, pilot electronic recording
Recommendation: Local authorities with responsibility for safeguarding children should establish and advertise a 24-hour free telephone referral number for use by members of the public who wish to report concerns about a child. A pilot study should be undertaken to evaluate …
Unknown
LAMI-32 — Ensure single, compatible electronic database for all children and families services
Recommendation: Local authority chief executives must ensure that only one electronic database system is used by all those working in children and families’ services for the recording of information. This should be the same system in use across the council, or …
Unknown
LAMI-31 — Ensure all staff working with children receive comprehensive vocational and ongoing training
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that all staff who work with children have received appropriate vocational training, receive a thorough induction in local procedures and are obliged to participate in regular continuing training so as to ensure that their …
Unknown
LAMI-30 — Directors must ensure senior managers regularly inspect children's social services case files
Recommendation: Directors of social services must ensure that senior managers inspect, at least once every three months, a random selection of case files and supervision notes.
Unknown
LAMI-29 — Implement system for directors to monitor children's social services duty team data
Recommendation: Directors of social services must devise and implement a system which provides them with the following information about the work of the duty teams for which they are responsible: • number of children referred to the teams; • number of …
Unknown
LAMI-28 — Require local authorities to assess and plan improvements for children's duty systems
Recommendation: The Department of Health should require chief executives of local authorities with social services responsibilities to prepare a position statement on the true picture of the current strengths and weaknesses of their ‘front door’ duty systems for children and families. …
Unknown
LAMI-27 — Include children's services explicitly in local authority priorities and operational plans
Recommendation: Chief executives and lead members of local authorities with social services responsibilities must ensure that children’s services are explicitly included in their authority’s list of priorities and operational plans.
Unknown
LAMI-6 — Establish a Committee for Children and Families to coordinate inter-agency services
Recommendation: Each local authority with social services responsibilities must establish a Committee of Members for Children and Families with lay members drawn from the management committees of each of the key services. This Committee must ensure the services to children and …
Unknown
LAMI-5 — National Agency to conduct or oversee and publish serious child case reviews
Recommendation: The National Agency for Children and Families should, at their discretion, conduct serious case reviews (Part 8 reviews) or oversee the process if they decide to delegate this task to other agencies following the death or serious deliberate injury to …
Unknown
LAMI-4 — National Agency to use regional structure for local policy implementation and monitoring
Recommendation: The National Agency for Children and Families will operate through a regional structure which will ensure that legislation and policy are being implemented at a local level, as well as providing central government with up-to-date and reliable information about the …
Unknown
LAMI-3 — Establish National Agency to assess, advise, and monitor children and families policy
Recommendation: The newly established National Agency for Children and Families should have the following responsibilities: • to assess, and advise the ministerial Children and Families Board about, the impact on children and families of proposed changes in policy; • to scrutinise …
Unknown
87 — Review CSA support services expenditure (Wales)
Recommendation: The Chair and Panel recommend that the Welsh Government and the relevant UK government departments work together to establish current levels of public expenditure, and the effectiveness of that expenditure on services for child victims and adult survivors of child …
Gov response: On 24 February 2022, the Welsh Government stated that it had obtained levels of public expenditure for support services to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in Wales. The Welsh Government also stated that …
Accepted
No update 2+ yrs
FR-3 — Cabinet-Level Minister for Children
Recommendation: The Inquiry recommends that the UK government creates a cabinet-level ministerial position for children. The Inquiry recommends that the Welsh Government ensures that there is cabinet-level ministerial responsibility for children.
Gov response: We accept the importance of placing the best interests of the child front and centre in policy and decision making at the highest level of Government. This role is already fulfilled through the work of …
Accepted
R94 — Continuing community support provision
Recommendation: There will be a continuing need, which must be met, for new and ongoing community-based support for young people and adults with learning disabilities and autistic people whose families become unable to cope full time. This means there is a …
Response Pending
R91 — Higher-funded resettlement team for complex needs
Recommendation: There needs to be a recognition that those service users in Northern Ireland yet to be resettled (if there are any by the time of publication of this report) will require a higher level of funding due to their needs …
Response Pending
SP65 — Remedial steps for failing education authorities
Recommendation: The Department for Education should consider what remedial steps can be put in place to assist in circumstances where, whether through underfunding or underperformance, local education authorities are failing to respond adequately to the need for alternative education provision for …
Gov response: The Department for Education (DfE) is the lead department and expects to complete the implementation of this recommendation by September 2029. Progress and next steps: - As set out in the Special Education Needs and …
Accepted
In progress
SP61 — LCC education provision and attendance audit
Recommendation: Lancashire County Council should, by no later than 13 October 2026, carry out and report on an audit (preferably involving an experienced independent external member) to review: 1. The speed of response to cases where a need for alternative education …
Gov response: The government agrees with all 67 recommendations made by the Chair. The government recognises these five fundamental failings. These failings are unacceptable. There are a further 27 recommendations that require delivery by organisations that sit …
Accepted
In progress