The children and social work bill, included in Wednesday’s Queen’s speech, promises key changes for children’s services. Under the bill, adoption would be prioritised over short-term foster care placements, and a new care leavers’ covenant would be introduced to provide young people leaving care with better support.
The government said the bill would “tackle state failure and transform the outcomes of children in care, so that we give all of them the hope of a better future”.
The announcements – many of which were trailed over the weekend – have provoked discussion in the social care sector. Tweet us your views on @GdnSocialCare, or leave a comment below this article.
Responses from the sector
Kevin Williams, chief executive of the Fostering Network: “While the Fostering Network welcomes the prime minister’s self-declared ‘unashamedly pro-adoption’ stance, and his subsequent backing of this stance in his government’s legislative agenda as set out in the Queen’s speech, we ask the government to understand that adoption and foster care are not mutually exclusive. On behalf of the vast majority of children in care, who will spend their childhoods in loving, stable and secure foster families, we call on this government to be unashamedly pro foster care as well.
“Adoption may be the best route to permanence for some children, and we have no doubts that post-adoption support should be improved. However it will always be a small minority of children in the care system for whom adoption is the most appropriate route to permanence. The vast majority of children in care will live with foster families, some of whom will spend their whole childhood with one foster family. The prime minister is right to want to give children who may be adopted every chance of a positive future, yet his approach only focuses on a minority of children in care – and that does all children a disservice.”
Javed Khan, chief executive of Barnardo’s: “Barnardo’s has long called for support to be extended for care leavers until they are 25 years, so this improvement is welcome. Young people leaving care don’t have a parent to guide and support them into adulthood and can be more vulnerable due to the instability they’ve faced in their lives.
“What we’d like to see now is a firm commitment from government to measuring outcomes for care leavers, as that transparency could then drive further progress. There are other huge gaps in support for care leavers, such as having the right accommodation and support with education, employment and training.”
Matthew Reed, chief executive of The Children’s Society: “We know that the life chances and outcomes for care leavers are significantly worse than for those who have not grown up in care. The government must address the problem of children in care being uprooted and moved miles away from their communities. It must also make sure care leavers get priority and consistent access to mental health support to tackle the significant disadvantages faced by those growing up in care.”
Imelda Redmond, chief executive of 4Children: “Today’s Queen’s speech outlined the government’s welcome commitment to helping the most disadvantaged through the new life chances strategy.
“The government committed to ensuring public services better help the hardest to reach. Children’s centres are well placed to support all families, from those who require universal services and light touch support to those on the edge of crisis in need of more targeted help – a trusted resource, rooted in local communities, which bring a range of services and professionals together under one roof.”
Dan Scorer, head of policy at Mencap: “This Queen’s speech committed the government to “tackle poverty and deprivation” and improve life chances of the most disadvantaged. Disabled people and their families are some of the most disadvantaged in our society, with 20% of families with at least one disabled member living in poverty, yet there was no mention as to how these inequalities would be addressed.
“People with a learning disability have seen the support they receive heavily reduced from severe cuts to benefits and social care, and despite the government’s manifesto commitment to halve the disability employment gap among disabled people there has been no clear action.”
Andrew Isaac, spokesperson for the Children’s Services Development Group: “CSDG warmly welcomes the government’s continued clear and transformative commitment to improving children’s services. New standards for local authorities as ‘corporate parents’ is a step in the right direction. CSDG has been constructively engaging with the government over a long period to highlight the entrenched bias that exists as a result of local authorities being both the commissioner and the provider of children’s services.
This relationship invariably means that children are placed in services perceived to be the lowest cost, rather than those which best meet their needs. We hope this renewed focus on ensuring authorities act as a ‘corporate parent’ will improve placement decisions and long-term outcomes.”
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