Govt backs councils with £500m to restore family services
It comes as part of the government’s plan for change to give every child ‘the best start in life’, and coincides with new guidance to reform family support services
The government has pledged over £500m in funding for preventive services to drive restoration in family and parenting support across every English council.
This funding aims to build on the landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to better support vulnerable children. Representing the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation, the bill paves the way for a unique child identifier for every council to have multi-agency child safeguarding teams.
It comes as part of the government’s plan for change to give every child “the best start in life”, and coincides with new guidance that sets a clear expectation on all councils to reform family support services to “enable earlier intervention and better protect children from harm”.
Key reforms include the introduction of a single ‘front door’ to support services in every local area, which aims to make it clear to families struggling with mental health issues, disabilities and substance misuse how they can access help.
This may entail adopting digital services or incorporating various teams and services into a current environment, like a family hub. Consolidating support from health visitors, housing support teams, and mental health professionals into a single location will simplify access for parents and enhance coordination with existing universal support.
Backed by over half a billion pounds for councils in 2025/26 – double their allocation in previous years – the government aims to rebuild the support infrastructure needed to reduce the number of children going into care.
Janet Daby, minister for children and families, said: “For too long, vulnerable children and families have been left to struggle – battling fragmented services and receiving support when it’s too late. Backed by over £500m and delivering our Plan for Change, we’re putting an end to this injustice and building back crumbling family support services, to keep children safe and enable more families to achieve and thrive together.
“Whether seeking help with supporting a child’s development or for substance misuse, families can feel assured that they will get the right help at the right stage, as this government delivers the real change that matters to families.”
The government revealed in its announcement that while spending on services for families at crisis point has skyrocketed by £4bn since 2013, investment in early preventative support – which isn’t statutory – has plummeted by £900m.
