Select committee: Public Services Committee
Recommendation 15
1st Report - Children in crisis: the role of public services in overcoming child vulnerability
Published 19 Nov 2021
Paragraph 150
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)
The Government should urgently publish a strategy for delivering the national roll-out of its Family Hub programme. In the initial stages of the roll-out it should prioritise the 20% of local authorities in England with the highest levels of child poverty. The strategy should include a long-term funding settlement, which provides the costs of ensuring that every Family Hub employs a full-time senior leader and a team of family coordinators.
From: Public Services Committee, 1st Report - Children in crisis: the role of public services in overcoming child vulnerability, paragraph 150, 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".