Select committee: Public Services Committee
Recommendation 3
1st Report - Children in crisis: the role of public services in overcoming child vulnerability
Published 19 Nov 2021
Paragraph 60
Public Services Committee The role of public services in addressing child vulnerability All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Spending on early intervention services in the 20% of local authorities in England with the highest levels of child poverty fell by £766 million in real terms between 2010 and 2019. To underpin a strategy on child vulnerability and its ambitions for ‘levelling up’, the Government should restore ringfenced funding for early intervention to its 2010 levels. This money should fund family support programmes such as the Family Nurse Partnership, Incredible Years and Preparing for Life, and prioritise the most deprived local authority areas. As part of this funding package, the Government should place a requirement on local authorities to evaluate local early intervention programmes across multiple service areas such as health, education, justice, social care and employment.
From: Public Services Committee, 1st Report - Children in crisis: the role of public services in overcoming child vulnerability, paragraph 60, 19 November 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 11 March 2022 (deadline 31 January 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it has considered the Committee's recommendations and is "looking carefully at what more can be done", partially accepting several, rejecting the call to restore early intervention funding to 2010 levels, and declining a single national strategy.
- On a national strategy on child vulnerability (Recommendation 2, "Partially accept"), it does not believe a single strategy is the best way to drive coherence and impact, as its breadth "would risk it becoming unmanageable".
- On restoring ringfenced early intervention funding to 2010 levels (Recommendation 3, "Reject"), it points to £4.8 billion of new grant funding for councils over three years and a £500 million early help package.
- On a statutory duty to collaborate (Recommendation 4, "Partially accept"), it says existing legislation and guidance already apply and it does not consider further law necessary "at this time".
- On a national Family Hubs roll-out strategy (Recommendation 15, "Partially accept"), it says it will set out more detail on family hubs policy, including delivery of the £300 million investment, "in due course".