Almost one-third of council funding is being spent on children’s social care, new analysis has revealed; with rising need putting local authorities at risk of filing for bankruptcy.
Thousands more vulnerable children have been referred to local authorities following the pandemic and councils have been spending more to keep up with the surge in need.
A group of 47 urban local authorities in England, the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (Sigoma), have warned that some councils are spending close to half their funding on children’s social care services.
Read the full article in the Independent here.
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Thousands of young people placed in council care more than 20 miles away from home, analysis shows
A third of children in council care in 2023 lived over 20 miles away from their local area, school and family – around 4,600 people in total.
£600m boost for social care next year announced in Budget
Councils’ available spending to grow by an estimated 3.2% in real terms in 2025-26, with authorities also given £250m to test new approaches in children’s
