Charities urge next PM to improve vulnerable children's care

A promised shake-up to the care system in England to protect vulnerable children must be delivered by the next prime minister, charities say.

The five charities, including NSPCC and Barnardo's, say flawed care is leading to children "being seriously hurt or even killed".

They are calling on Tory leadership rivals Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to take action to reform the system.

The Conservatives promised to make changes in their 2019 manifesto.

It said: "We will review the care system to make sure that all care placements and settings are providing children and young adults with the support they need."

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But the recommendations of an independent review have yet to be implemented.

In a letter to the Tory leadership candidates, the charities say the care system has let children down badly, with success stories being the "exception to the rule".

'Wholly unsuitable'

They say current arrangements are "not working", and that without action "outcomes for children and families will remain stubbornly poor".

The letter warns that many as 100,000 children could be in care in 10 years' time, compared with 80,000 currently in the system.

The charities welcomed the 2019 manifesto commitment, but noted that the independent review's final report was published in June.

They are urging both leadership candidates to pledge to implement the recommendations by the end of the year.

The recommendations include:

• New child protection experts to ensure senior staff are directly involved in frontline decisions

• A recruitment drive to increase the number of foster parents who can care for children

• A new law protecting care leavers from discrimination

• The phasing out of young offender institutions, which are described as "wholly unsuitable for children"

The letter is signed by Anna Feuchtwang from the National Children's Bureau, Melanie Armstrong from Action for Children, Lynn Perry from Barnardo's, Sir Peter Wanless from the NSPCC. and Mark Russell from The Children's Society.

The Truss and Sunak campaigns have been contacted for a response.

According to the five charities, an estimated quarter of the adult prison population are care leavers and 70% of care leavers are more likely to die prematurely.

Young people who grow up in care are three times less likely to be in education, employment or training by the time they reach 19.

'Change won't happen overnight'

The letter describes how some children in the care system felt they had to hurt someone or be hurt to get any support.

In June 2022, the Department for Education said "change can not happen easily overnight", but outlined its plans for action.

It wants to develop a National Children's Social Care Framework to support families and protect children.

It also aims to work with local authorities to increase the recruitment of foster carers and to ensure children had access to the right placements at the right time.

A goal of creating seven new family hubs that help families access a range of support services was set.

The government said it would respond in full to the report later in the year.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Keeping vulnerable children safe is at the heart of government policy.

"That's why we commissioned the independent review of children's social care, which has recommended widescale reform to the system.

"Since its publication we have committed to a bold action plan to bring around a fundamental shift in children's social care and set up a new National Implementation Board of sector experts and people with experience of the care system to help guide this work."