Written evidence to Education Committee's inquiry into children's social care about Herefordshire (Jan 2025)
Written Evidence from Anonymous (CSC 175)
Education Committee
Children’s Social Care
Evidence to Education Committee’s Inquiry into Children’s Social Care
Is the current provision of children’s social care sufficient to meet demand?
The current provision of children’s social care (CSC) is insufficient to meet demand because too little is invested in early intervention. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (Independent Review) recommended a windfall tax on profiteering children’s homes companies and independent fostering agencies, which would be invested in Family Help. This would reduce the number of children in care and its “bankrupting-councils” cost.
In 2023-24, the Children and Young People Directorate of Herefordshire Council spent £63,500,000 (budget: £51,800,000), overspending by £11,700,000, including £8,700,000 on children in care.
The average yearly cost of each child in care in Herefordshire (January 2023) was:
In-house fostering: over £16,000
Independent fostering agencies (IFAs): over £46,000
Children's homes: over £260,000
Herefordshire Council’s five costliest placements of children in care in 2022-23 each exceeded a million pounds, with the most expensive costing £1,524,164.
Per the Local Authority Interactive Tool (LAIT) as of 31 March 2024, the rate of children in care per 10,000 children was:
Herefordshire: 114
Statistical Neighbours’ (average): 66.78
Following a BBC1 Panorama programme, Herefordshire Children’s Services (CS) was assessed as “Inadequate” by Ofsted, leading to a statutory direction and the appointment of a Children’s Commissioner. There have been three reports from the Commissioner, plus the Report of the Commission to Consider Families’ Experience of Children’s Services in Herefordshire.
Unnecessary separations (in care or adoptions) are contrary to the child’s and family’s human rights.
What factors are causing the increase in demand for children’s social care?
Following tragic deaths (e.g., Victoria Climbié’s murder in 2000), many councils have developed a risk-averse and overzealous culture. This is evident in Herefordshire’s statistics (LAIT, 31 March 2024):
Children in Need: Herefordshire: 466 | Statistical Neighbours’ (average): 287
Section 47 enquiries: Herefordshire: 276 | Statistical Neighbours’ (average): 161
Child Protection Plan: Herefordshire: 60 | Statistical Neighbours’ (average): 34
The Children’s Commissioner’s December 2023 report stated:
“Families in Herefordshire have experienced practice that has been intrusive and over-reliant on process, leading to unnecessary use of formal mechanisms to engage families and a disproportionate use of intervention in family life and too many children being looked after when there could have been opportunities to safely keep them with parents or the wider family.”Media coverage tends to focus on social workers failing to intervene rather than overzealous removals.
Insufficient Legal Aid, Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) employed by councils, secrecy in family courts, and occasional misleading council evidence mean children are often unnecessarily separated from their families.
Four High Court cases highlight miscarriages of justice in Herefordshire’s family courts.
Legal Aid fees should be increased for care proceedings, family courts should be more transparent, IROs should not be council-employed, and some social workers should face prosecution for perjury. Additionally, greater funding for the Family Rights Group (FRG) would be more effective than increasing Legal Aid alone.
The 26-week time limit for care proceedings should be more flexible, as families often have limited time to improve their situation.
Children are often removed from disadvantaged younger parents and placed with socially advantaged older parents.
Legal Aid is inadequate, and few parents can afford adequate representation, whereas councils face few spending restrictions.
Herefordshire Council frequently violates the Human Rights Act 1998, paying out £290,000 in damages to harmed children and families between 2016-2021.
The council’s scrutiny committee lacks mandated co-optees representing religious institutions.
Many councils may have ineffective scrutiny of CSC.
More councils should have scrutiny co-optees from families involved with CSC and those with SEND children.
Reports highlight Herefordshire Council’s toxic culture undermining CSC improvements.
Directors of Children’s Services (DCSs) should be qualified, registered, and better recruited.
Other factors increasing demand include rising child poverty and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
What are the recent trends and causes of out-of-area placements?
High rates of children in care lead to more placements in children’s homes and out-of-area placements. In Herefordshire, 19% of children in care are in residential settings, above the national rate.
The social care market, including private and local authority care homes
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Independent Review have criticized profiteering by private children’s homes.
Rising costs and mitigation strategies
Rising costs are due to increased numbers of children in care and insufficient placements. Cheaper alternatives include:
Family Help to keep children with their parents.
Kinship care to place children with relatives.
Short-term fostering to help families stabilize.
The Independent Review recommended a windfall tax on major private providers to fund Family Help.
The government should reconsider its decision not to implement this tax.
Investment in Family Help would reduce care numbers, cut costs, and improve placements.
Herefordshire Council has lower in-house foster care recruitment than comparable councils, leading to reliance on expensive IFAs.
A public inquiry into Herefordshire CSC should be considered.
Measures to improve early intervention
Increased early intervention investment is needed, funded by a windfall tax on profiteering providers.
Alternatives to residential care
Children should remain with family or foster carers rather than in costly children’s homes.
Herefordshire’s kinship care rate (13%) is below regional and national averages.
In Australia, 52% of children in care are in kinship placements.
Residential education is costly and should only be used for specific SEND needs.
Adoption should be a last resort if family care is impossible.
More families oppose adoptions in Herefordshire than in similar areas, suggesting unnecessary adoptions.
Forced adoptions are common in the UK but rare in Europe.
Three recent Herefordshire forced adoption cases could have been prevented with minimal support.
The UK has the highest adoption rates in Europe and prevents adopted children from maintaining contact with birth families.
Parliament should inquire into modern forced adoptions.
Improving outcomes for care leavers
Kinship care produces better outcomes than non-relative foster care.
Children in care have worse life outcomes than those raised by relatives.
Lifelong Links programs should be universally implemented.
Separation from families traumatizes children and worsens outcomes.
Issues with Ofsted as a regulator
Ofsted does not regulate local authorities, making it ineffective in addressing CSC failures.
High Court judgments were ignored until Panorama exposed Herefordshire’s failings.
A new inspectorate and regulator for CSC should be established.
The government’s children’s social care strategy
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is more effective than Stable Homes, Built on Love, but a windfall tax on providers remains necessary.