Member

Thirdly, this needs proper funding, for both the early help duties and the new child protection teams. The pathfinders got significant funding, and I have been told by one director of children’s services that they had to pay their multi-agency partners to attend. In the words of one DCS I spoke to, changes in child protection need to be thoughtful and evidenced. They are concerned that the proposed merging of targeted, non-social work-led work with Section 17 will lead to a ballooning in case numbers, as my noble friend Lady Berridge said, similar to what we have seen with SEND. Ultimately, that risks translating into more children in the care system, not fewer, which none of us wants to see.