Latest looked after children government data: CCN responds

Today the Department for Education has released the latest looked after children figures for England as of April this year.

The figures show a slight decrease of 130 children and young people in local authority care, with the total now 83,630 across the country.

This week the County Councils Network (CCN) released a new report from IMPOWER which projects that if nothing changes, councils across England could be spending £12bn a year on children in care by 2030, up from £12.6bn per annum last year.

Below, the CCN responds to the latest data.

Cllr Roger Gough, Children’s Services Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:

“Today’s data shows that the numbers of children in local authority care has declined very slightly, but the fact remains that local authorities are looking after almost 15,000 more young people compared to a decade ago.

“As our new report released this week shows, the system is broken. If nothing changes, councils could be spending £12bn a year on children in care by 2030, with local authorities having to operate in a false economy of increasingly paying astronomical sums for placements and less on preventative services. But the biggest losers from the current system are young people themselves, with too many being placed in children’s homes due to a lack of foster carers, and far too many being placed many miles from home at a time when they are experiencing the trauma of being removed from their family.

“The figures today reveal a system in desperate need for reform. The government’s commitment to change the system in last month’s Budget is commendable, but change needs to come urgently and within 12 months of the Spending Review next year. The government has promised to fix the foundations: it should start by fixing the foundations of children’s services.”

The CCN and IMPOWER report was launched this week at the network’s annual conference. Watch the plenary session where it was launched below: