The spiralling cost of social services is eating into the budgets of England’s largest councils to the extent that many will soon be forced to abandon “nice to have” functions such as arts and youth clubs and Sure Start centres.
Council leaders are concerned town halls are at risk of becoming “care authorities” focused primarily on the provision of care packages to an expanding number of at-risk children and frail adults at the expense of other services.
Read the full article in the Guardian here.
Plan to register children not in school takes shape
A register to identify children who are not in school in England will be part of a bill introduced to Parliament on Tuesday. Read the
Family Court Annual Report: October 2023 to September 2024
Read the full report here.
Hundreds of English schools still at risk from crumbling concrete
Hundreds of schools in England are still at risk of collapse from crumbling concrete, according to previously unpublished figures. Official data, which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)