Introduction from the Committee
Local authorities have statutory duties for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in their area and work with the police and health services, among others, to meet these duties. In 2014-15, authorities spent £1.8 billion on children’s social work, including on child protection. The Department for Education (the Department) is responsible for the legal and policy frameworks within which authorities operate. The Department also publishes data; sets the framework against which Ofsted inspects each authority’s services;
and intervenes where an authority fails to deliver services to an acceptable standard.
In 2010, the Department recognised that child protection services were not good enough and commissioned the Munro review. In 2014-15, local authorities accepted 635,600 requests for services to be provided by children’s social care because of concerns about a child’s welfare. The total number of children in need of help or protection across the year was over 780,000. If an authority suspects a child is at risk of significant harm, it may need to put in place a child protection plan. In 2014-15, 62,200 children became the subject of a plan and over the past ten years, the rate of children starting on plans has risen by 94%. By 2016, the Department acknowledged that the quality of work with children and families was still too inconsistent and published new plans to ensure that all vulnerable children, no matter where they live, receive the same high quality care and support by 2020.
Background resources
• NAO report: Children in need of help or protection – Session 2016-17 (HC 723)
• PAC report: Child protection – Session 2016-17 (HC 713)
• Treasury Minutes: March 2017 (Cm 9429) Updated Government response to the Committee
There were 9 recommendations in this report. As of the last Treasury Minute (Cm 9429), 3 recommendations had been implemented and the Department disagreed with 2 recommendations. 4 recommendations remained work in progress, of which 2 have now been implemented, as set out below.
3: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
Ofsted inspections do not provide sufficient and up-to-date information on service quality.
Recommendation:
The Department should work with Ofsted and set out for the Committee by March 2017 what steps it will take to get more timely assurance on the quality of children’s services.
3.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Target implementation date: January 2018.
3.2 Ofsted are working on a new framework for the inspection of children’s social care services, which will improve the timeliness of assurance around the quality of children’s social care significantly.
The Department is working closely with Ofsted to ensure that the new framework is rigorous, provides more frequent information about local authorities’ performance, and continues to provide an effective lever for central Government intervention where that is necessary. Ofsted commenced a pilot study in January 2017 to test the proposed new framework in a number of local authorities. In February 2017, it published its response to the consultation, summarising the consultation proposals, the responses received, and how it intends to proceed73. Following the conclusion of the pilot phase the new framework will be published in late autumn 2017 ahead of its introduction in January 2018
73https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-launches-new-social-care-common-inspection-framework
Thirty First Report of Session 2016-17 Department for Education
Child protection
4: Committee of Public Accounts conclusions:
The Committee is extremely sceptical about the Department’s projected tourism figures and the island’s ability to support such growth in the tourist industry.
Recommendation:
The Department should re-calculate its projected tourism figures to provide an updated assessment of progress towards economic self-sufficiency and the consequent reduction in the Department’s subsidy.
4.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Target implementation date: April 2018.
4.2 The new scheduled commercial air service is expected to commence in October. The Department will commission work to recalculate the projected tourism figures based on the real data from flight operations by April 2018 to allow for six months of flight operations. This will include additional information from initial testing of the tourism market.
5: Committee of Public Accounts conclusions:
The reputational damage to St Helena from this fiasco could further hinder its ability to attract investment.
Recommendation:
The Department should engage closely with the St Helena Government to secure real progress against the joint Memorandum of Understanding to remove barriers to inward investment.
5.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Target implementation date: April 2018.
5.2 The St Helena Government, working with Enterprise St Helena (the agency) as the economic development agency, continues to focus on investment climate reform, in close consultation with other parts of the St Helena Government. Recent developments include proposals for a new Investment Strategy building on and updating the 2010 Memorandum of Understanding, and the 2011 Investment Policy. The new Strategy will be spearheaded by a St Helena Government and the agency, working with relevant stakeholders such as the private sector and the Bank of St Helena. An Action Plan with prioritised targets will be provided by the agency, working with the St Helena Government, by 31 December 2017. The St Helena Government is also updating the Sustainable Economic Development Plan to develop further their economic strategy.
5.3 The St Helena Government has re-introduced a cross-stakeholder tax working group which is reviewing current tax policy and whether it is optimal. In addition, the St Helena Government has decided to appoint a tax advisor who will consider the systems, processes, and organisational structure within which the tax polices of St Helena are applied to maximise the tax revenue stream. The St Helena Government also plan to work with HMRC in 2018 to digitise their tax system and improve compliance.
Introduction from the Committee
Local authorities have statutory duties for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in their area and work with the police and health services, among others, to meet these duties. In 2014-15, authorities spent £1.8 billion on children’s social work, including on child protection. The Department for Education (the Department) is responsible for the legal and policy frameworks within which authorities operate. The Department also publishes data; sets the framework against which Ofsted inspects each authority’s services;
and intervenes where an authority fails to deliver services to an acceptable standard.
In 2010, the Department recognised that child protection services were not good enough and commissioned the Munro review. In 2014-15, local authorities accepted 635,600 requests for services to be provided by children’s social care because of concerns about a child’s welfare. The total number of children in need of help or protection across the year was over 780,000. If an authority suspects a child is at risk of significant harm, it may need to put in place a child protection plan. In 2014-15, 62,200 children became the subject of a plan and over the past ten years, the rate of children starting on plans has risen by 94%. By 2016, the Department acknowledged that the quality of work with children and families was still too inconsistent and published new plans to ensure that all vulnerable children, no matter where they live, receive the same high quality care and support by 2020.
Background resources
• NAO report: Children in need of help or protection – Session 2016-17 (HC 723)
• PAC report: Child protection – Session 2016-17 (HC 713)
• Treasury Minutes: March 2017 (Cm 9429) Updated Government response to the Committee
There were 9 recommendations in this report. As of the last Treasury Minute (Cm 9429), 3 recommendations had been implemented and the Department disagreed with 2 recommendations. 4 recommendations remained work in progress, of which 2 have now been implemented, as set out below.
3: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
Ofsted inspections do not provide sufficient and up-to-date information on service quality.
Recommendation:
The Department should work with Ofsted and set out for the Committee by March 2017 what steps it will take to get more timely assurance on the quality of children’s services.
3.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Target implementation date: January 2018.
3.2 Ofsted are working on a new framework for the inspection of children’s social care services, which will improve the timeliness of assurance around the quality of children’s social care significantly.
The Department is working closely with Ofsted to ensure that the new framework is rigorous, provides more frequent information about local authorities’ performance, and continues to provide an effective lever for central Government intervention where that is necessary. Ofsted commenced a pilot study in January 2017 to test the proposed new framework in a number of local authorities. In February 2017, it published its response to the consultation, summarising the consultation proposals, the responses received, and how it intends to proceed73. Following the conclusion of the pilot phase the new framework will be published in late autumn 2017 ahead of its introduction in January 2018
73https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-launches-new-social-care-common-inspection-framework
Thirty First Report of Session 2016-17 Department for Education
Child protection
3.3 One of the core elements of the new framework will be the visits that Ofsted inspectors will make to a local authority in between full inspections. The purpose of these visits will be to consider any potential areas of concern, as well as to explore and share good practice. The early identification of slippage or concerns in performance, supported by focused feedback from inspectors, will enable local authorities to address problems at an earlier stage. The findings of these visits may also influence the nature and timing of the full inspection to which a local authority is subject. At a higher level, a more flexible and proportionate inspection regime will enable inspection activity to be targeted in the most effective way.
4: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
The Department allows problems with services to go too far before it intervenes.
Recommendation:
The Department should speed up its use of leading indicators to intervene in local authorities before they fail. It should write to the Committee by March 2017 explaining how it will monitor services in real time and what appropriate support and intervention it will provide before the stage where a local authority is found to be Inadequate by Ofsted.
4.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Recommendation implemented.
4.2 The Department has undertaken work to develop indicators which will help identify those LAs at risk of failure, in advance of Ofsted inspections. They offer helpful pointers to areas of risk, but need to be triangulated with softer information and qualitative analysis before they can be considered sufficiently robust for use. That is why the Department is developing options for an improvement programme, working with sector partners, to drive up performance, proactively and promptly. It will be based on a process of identification of risk; analysis of what might be needed to improve a LAs performance; and support to the LA to improve.
4.3 The first stage will be informed by both lead indicators and soft intelligence, the second by a more detailed assessment of an LAs strengths and weaknesses. The programme will work alongside the Department’s existing Innovation Programme and Partners in Practice to drive improvement. The Department will pilot the new approach from October 2017.
5: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
Six years after the Munro review the Department still has no evidence on what works.
Recommendation:
The Department should set out for the Committee its plans for evaluation, dissemination and embedding good practice.
5.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Target implementation date: December 2017.
5.2 The Department is developing a blueprint for a national learning infrastructure for children's social care. This will bring together the lessons from the reformed serious case review system, the Innovation Programme and Partners in Practice Programme, with the creation of a new What Works Centre for Children's Social Care at its centre. The national learning infrastructure will seek to unite all the elements of innovation, best practice, robust evaluation and evidence, learning and dissemination to improve practice at the frontline and ultimately improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children.
5.3 In 2015, the Department set aside up to £20 million across four years to develop the new What Works Centre (WWC) for Children’s Social Care, alongside a wider national learning system. The WWC will build a robust evidence base on effective practice for children’s social care to support local practitioners and commissioners to deliver the most cost-effective frontline services. The Department is currently running procurement exercises for an incubator and research partner to set up the WWC and expects the initial model to be established by December 2017
5.4 All 57 independent evaluation reports of projects funded through the first round of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme have now been published and are available on the GOV.UK website.
Six thematic reports have also been published, including a social work infographic and a final overall evaluation report. The Department is working with the newly appointed evaluation coordinator and evaluation organisations to develop thematic evaluation strategies that will test specific hypotheses
across projects funded through the second and third rounds of the Innovation Programme
5.5 The Department is also continuing to develop a learning programme to share evidence, learning and best practice from the Innovation Programme. This includes interest groups and learning networks, workshops and conferences, toolkits, guides, insight boards and webinars, all of which will feed in to the new What Works Centre.
5.6 The Children and Social Work Act, which includes provisions to establish the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, received Royal Assent in April 2017. This has allowed the Department to make plans for the Panel, which will take an overview of learning from serious incidents and conduct a small number of national learning reviews, to become operational in the first quarter of 2018, subject to Ministerial decision.
7: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
The Department mishandled a clear conflict of interest after appointing the Chief Social Worker.
Recommendation 7c:
In its letter to the Committee in March 2017, the Department should clarify what it will do to set clear guidelines for officials about conflicts of interest as the Government moves ahead with plans to outsource children’s social services to private and voluntary sector partners.
7.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Recommendation implemented.
7.2 The Department has written to senior staff in the Department and to its Arm’s Length Bodies reminding them of their responsibility to disclose potential conflicts of interest. The Department will continue working to improve the reporting system for its own senior staff and expects to introduce a new digital annual Assurance Framework Record by December 2017.
3.3 One of the core elements of the new framework will be the visits that Ofsted inspectors will make to a local authority in between full inspections. The purpose of these visits will be to consider any potential areas of concern, as well as to explore and share good practice. The early identification of slippage or concerns in performance, supported by focused feedback from inspectors, will enable local authorities to address problems at an earlier stage. The findings of these visits may also influence the nature and timing of the full inspection to which a local authority is subject. At a higher level, a more flexible and proportionate inspection regime will enable inspection activity to be targeted in the most effective way.
4: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
The Department allows problems with services to go too far before it intervenes.
Recommendation:
The Department should speed up its use of leading indicators to intervene in local authorities before they fail. It should write to the Committee by March 2017 explaining how it will monitor services in real time and what appropriate support and intervention it will provide before the stage where a local authority is found to be Inadequate by Ofsted.
4.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Recommendation implemented.
4.2 The Department has undertaken work to develop indicators which will help identify those LAs at risk of failure, in advance of Ofsted inspections. They offer helpful pointers to areas of risk, but need to be triangulated with softer information and qualitative analysis before they can be considered sufficiently robust for use. That is why the Department is developing options for an improvement programme, working with sector partners, to drive up performance, proactively and promptly. It will be based on a process of identification of risk; analysis of what might be needed to improve a LAs performance; and support to the LA to improve.
4.3 The first stage will be informed by both lead indicators and soft intelligence, the second by a more detailed assessment of an LAs strengths and weaknesses. The programme will work alongside the Department’s existing Innovation Programme and Partners in Practice to drive improvement. The Department will pilot the new approach from October 2017.
5: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
Six years after the Munro review the Department still has no evidence on what works.
Recommendation:
The Department should set out for the Committee its plans for evaluation, dissemination and embedding good practice.
5.1 The Government agreed with the Committee’s recommendation.
Target implementation date: December 2017.
5.2 The Department is developing a blueprint for a national learning infrastructure for children's social care. This will bring together the lessons from the reformed serious case review system, the Innovation Programme and Partners in Practice Programme, with the creation of a new What Works Centre for Children's Social Care at its centre. The national learning infrastructure will seek to unite all the elements of innovation, best practice, robust evaluation and evidence, learning and dissemination to improve practice at the frontline and ultimately improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children.
5.3 In 2015, the Department set aside up to £20 million across four years to develop the new What Works Centre (WWC) for Children’s Social Care, alongside a wider national learning system. The WWC will build a robust evidence base on effective practice for children’s social care to support local practitioners and commissioners to deliver the most cost-effective frontline services. The Department is currently running procurement exercises for an incubator and research partner to set up the WWC and expects the initial model to be established by December 2017
5.4 All 57 independent evaluation reports of projects funded through the first round of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme have now been published and are available on the GOV.UK website.
Six thematic reports have also been published, including a social work infographic and a final overall evaluation report. The Department is working with the newly appointed evaluation coordinator and evaluation organisations to develop thematic evaluation strategies that will test specific hypotheses
across projects funded through the second and third rounds of the Innovation Programme
5.5 The Department is also continuing to develop a learning programme to share evidence, learning and best practice from the Innovation Programme. This includes interest groups and learning networks, workshops and conferences, toolkits, guides, insight boards and webinars, all of which will feed in to the new What Works Centre.
5.6 The Children and Social Work Act, which includes provisions to establish the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, received Royal Assent in April 2017. This has allowed the Department to make plans for the Panel, which will take an overview of learning from serious incidents and conduct a small number of national learning reviews, to become operational in the first quarter of 2018, subject to Ministerial decision.
7: Committee of Public Accounts conclusion
The Department mishandled a clear conflict of interest after appointing the Chief Social Worker.
Recommendation 7c:
In its letter to the Committee in March 2017, the Department should clarify what it will do to set
In its letter to the Committee in March 2017, the Department should clarify what it will do to set