Building Healthier Communities: The Case for Investing in Public Health
Explore how targeted, community-based public health strategies can improve lives, reduce NHS pressure, and deliver cost savings for local authorities.
Ombudsman raises concerns over councils’ handling of complaints involving children
25/07/2025 Concerns have been raised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman over the way councils handle complaints of cases involving children. |
DCN: 'Essential' role of districts in setting up new children's services
23/07/2025 District councils will be ‘essential’ to establishing new children’s services through local government reorganisation (LGR), according to a report. |
Councils urged to boost scarce holiday childcare spaces
17/07/2025 Only 9% of councils have sufficient holiday childcare places for at least 75% of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in their area, a survey has revealed. |
LGOF: Will it work?
16/07/2025 Dr Jonathan Carr-West, LGIU, discusses the Local Government Outcomes Framework (LGOF), the latest instalment in the history of local government accountability. |
Council places boy in unregistered children’s home
19/06/2025 A High Court judge has condemned the Isle of Wight Council’s ‘inadequate’ placement of a boy in a £500,000 children’s home. |
Councils faced with ‘astronomical’ children’s homes costs
29/05/2025 The number of children’s home placements costing over £500,000 annually has dramatically increased over the last five years, council chiefs warn. |
AI trial could reduce care waiting times for vulnerable children
27/05/2025 Somerset Council has announced an AI trial that could accelerate the production of special educational needs reports for children. |
'More to do' on diversity in DCS roles
23/05/2025 Diversity among children’s services chiefs has improved over the last year, but ‘there is still more to do’ to make the role ‘visibly inclusive’, the Association of Directors of Children Services (ADCS) has said. |
Think tank calls for early intervention for children’s mental health issues
19/05/2025 Children with mental health issues are facing long-term health conditions and employment barriers, says new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). |
200k children risk being trapped in temporary accommodation
29/04/2025 Over 200,000 children could be in temporary accommodation by the end of this Parliament if more isn’t done to build social housing, homelessness charity warns. |
LGA: Children’s social care buckling under budget pressures
17/04/2025 Council chiefs have urged the Government to invest more into early intervention to support the children’s social care system as it reaches ‘crisis point’. |
Early intervention spending down 40%
08/04/2025 Spending on early intervention children's services has plummeted by more than 40% since the onset of austerity, research has found. |
Leicester takes issue with watchdog's criticism
31/01/2025 Leicester City Council has said a newly-published Ofsted report ‘does not accurately reflect' its children's services. |
Knowsley leaving children 'being harmed or at risk'
21/01/2025 Regulator Ofsted has rated Knowsley MBC's children's services inadequate, warning the council was leaving young people being ‘harmed or at risk of harm'. |
Children’s care based on capacity not need, commissioner warns
05/11/2024 Decisions about the care of vulnerable children are often driven by local capacity and resource rather than need, the children’s commissioner has warned. |
Council to celebrate children’s successes
29/10/2024 Medway Council has launched a new initiative to celebrate the achievements of local children. |
Spend on residential care placements hits £2.4bn
04/09/2024 For the first time, more is being spent on residential care placements for children than on early intervention services, leading charities warn. |
Warrington BC faces £29m overspend
03/09/2024 Warrington Borough Council could be facing a £29m overspend by the end of the financial year, the cabinet member for corporate finance has warned. |
West Midlands councils warn region will be ‘financially unsustainable’
02/09/2024 Seven council leaders in the West Midlands have warned there is a risk the region will have to declare itself as ‘financially unsustainable.’ |
Council issues s114 warning due to SEND crisis
13/08/2024 North Somerset Council has warned that it might declare effective bankruptcy unless it receives support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Council failing to respond to children at risk of ‘harm’
29/07/2024 Sefton Council is failing to respond in a timely manner to cases where children are at risk of ‘significant harm’, an Ofsted monitoring report concludes. |
Council launches ‘urgent review’ after Harehills riot
22/07/2024 Leeds City Council has launched an ‘urgent review’ of the case that saw children removed from a family and put into care after riots broke out last week. |
Lone asylum-seeking child arrivals to Kent up 87%
15/07/2024 The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking (UAS) children arriving in the UK along Kent’s shoreline has risen by 87%. |
Council introduces DBS checks for members
11/07/2024 West Northamptonshire Council will require all members to receive Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. |
Inquiry call over asylum hotel use
17/06/2024 A charity has called for a statutory independent inquiry into the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children. |
UNISON: To whoever forms the next government…
14/06/2024 Christina McAnea, general secretary of UNISON, tells LocalGov.co.uk what the sector’s biggest union hopes to see from the next government. |
Abandoned Baby Elsa in council care
05/06/2024 A DNA test has confirmed that a baby found abandoned in a shopping bag in Newham is biologically related to two other babies found in the London borough. |
Judge: Kent cannot wriggle out of asylum duties
05/06/2024 Kent CC has been told by a judge it cannot wriggle out of its duties to ‘accommodate and look after’ all unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children. |
NextGov: What the next government should do for children’s services
05/06/2024 Andy Smith, president of the ADCS, looks at what the priorities for the next government should be when it comes to children’s services. |
Government acknowledges Blackpool children's services improvements
05/06/2024 Blackpool Council has welcomed the lifting of a government directive requiring the local authority to improve its children’s services social care. |
Twelve Leicester children’s centres ‘under threat’
04/06/2024 Twelve children, young people and families centres in Leicester are ‘under threat’, warns UNISON. |
Council staff 'live in fear of abuse, assault or worse'
03/06/2024 Council staff and members often live ‘in fear of abuse, assault or worse,’ experts have warned. |
Council bosses call on next government to deliver ‘fundamental reform’
30/05/2024 Local services could reach ‘breaking point’ if the next government fails to deliver long-term funding and ‘fundamental reform’, a cross-party group of council leaders has argued. |
MacAlister: Not enough has changed on children's social care
23/05/2024 The author of the Government’s independent review of children’s care has warned ‘not enough has changed’ since he proposed reforms two years ago. |
Reform required to unleash preventative approach, says report
21/05/2024 Central government reforms are needed to help innovation in preventative services at a local level, a report has found. |
Auditor issues qualified opinion on Stoke-on-Trent accounts
15/05/2024 Concerns over finances and children’s services have resulted in auditors issuing a qualified opinion on Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s accounts. |
Clark: Tories and Labour unwilling to address SEND crisis
15/04/2024 Labour and the Conservatives have been accused of an ‘unwillingness’ to confront the crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services. |
IFS: £2.5bn Sure Start delivered ‘substantial benefits’
09/04/2024 Children eligible for free school meals who grew up near a Sure Start centre performed up to three grades better at GCSEs than those further away, IFS finds. |
Finley Boden: Council apologises for ‘missed opportunities’
28/03/2024 Derbyshire CC has apologised for the ‘missed opportunities’ to do more to safeguard 10-month-old Finley Boden who was murdered on Christmas Day in 2020. |
CCN: Two-thirds of council budgets spent on care
18/03/2024 Council chiefs have called for an ‘honest discussion’ about services as new research reveals local authorities spend two-thirds of their budgets on care. |
Budget: Boost for preventative services
06/03/2024 Funding for preventative services has been announced as part of the Spring Budget in an attempt to relieve local government’s demand pressures. |
Bradford issued Best Value Notice
01/03/2024 The Government has issued a Best Value Notice to City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council over concerns about its financial resilience and children’s services. |
Stoke-on-Trent warns services may be ‘stripped to the bone’
26/02/2024 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has warned its budget plans rest on a bid to secure an extra £42.2m in Government funding. |
Children’s needs not prioritised, service leaders warn
21/02/2024 Children’s services directors have raised concerns that government policy does not prioritise children, while their previous asks of Whitehall ‘remain unaddressed’. |
Ofsted rates Havering's children's services inadequate
16/02/2024 Havering LBC’s children’s services have been rated inadequate by Government regulator Ofsted after a two-week on-site inspection. |
New £4.9m bonus scheme amid childcare expansion concerns
02/02/2024 The Government has launched a recruitment drive ahead of its free childcare expansion, but a major early years organisation has warned it will do little to boost staff numbers before rollout. |
More than 1,000 child refugees placed in adult accommodation
23/01/2024 Child refugees arriving in the UK alone are exposed to harm and abuse in adult accommodation because of the Home Office’s flawed age assessment system, according to a new report. |
The new Centre for Young Lives
22/01/2024 Anne Longfield CBE, the chair of the Commission on Young Lives, discusses the launch of the Centre for Young Lives this month. |
Council bosses back data use to improve care
07/12/2023 An increased use of data in children’s social care could improve outcomes and deliver much-needed savings, the County Councils Network (CCN) has said. |
Wraparound childcare: what do parents want?
29/11/2023 Ellen Broomé, managing director of Coram Family and Childcare, shares what must be done to make sure families can access the provision they need. |
LGA lays bare ‘astronomical’ care costs
29/11/2023 There has been a 1,000% rise over five years in the number of children’s social care placements that cost councils £10,000 or more a week, the Local Government Association (LGA) has found. |
Plan for schools needs local government ‘at its heart’
29/11/2023 England’s children’s services chiefs have set out a future vision to fix an ‘incoherent and fragmented’ education system. |
MPs warn local services on ‘knife edge’
28/11/2023 MPs have warned that key local services are on a ‘knife edge’ due to the poor financial health of councils in England. |
How the Autumn Statement failed children’s services
24/11/2023 Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton, chair of Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), looks at what the Autumn Statement meant for children’s services. |
Homeless children left without care
16/11/2023 Almost 6,500 16- and 17-year-olds presented as homeless to their local authority in England last year, according to new data. |
Young carers let down by system, 'damning' report says
14/11/2023 The first ever parliamentary inquiry on young carers has revealed the ‘devastating impact’ of care responsibilities on their education, wellbeing and prospects. |
South Gloucestershire families not getting agreed respite
08/11/2023 Almost a third of families with children with special needs in South Gloucestershire have not been receiving sufficient respite care, an investigation has found. |
Lack of capacity hindering early help
07/11/2023 A lack of capacity is hindering early help services for children and families, a joint report by three watchdogs has found. |
Call for curbs on agency staff
03/11/2023 Curbs on social care agencies have been put forward as solutions to Bradford Council’s soaring staffing costs. |
Concern over hotel use for care leavers
02/11/2023 Too many care leavers live in hotels or other unsuitable accommodation in Devon but oversight at the county council has improved, Ofsted has found. |
Children's services 'absolute carnage'
02/11/2023 The state of children’s services has been described as ‘absolute carnage’ after years of underfunding. |
One in 10 county councils facing effective bankruptcy
01/11/2023 England’s county and unitary authorities are ‘running out of road’ to prevent insolvency, with one in 10 not sure they can balance their budget this year. |
Biggest children’s care providers make £300m profit
30/10/2023 The largest independent providers of children’s social care brought in profits of more than £300m last year, a report has found. |
Child abuse inquiry chair criticises Government response
23/10/2023 The chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has warned ministers’ response to her recommendations has been ‘weak’. |
Blackburn with Darwen struggles with £18.6m funding gap
09/10/2023 Blackburn with Darwen BC must prioritise savings to fill a potential £18.6m funding gap by 2027 while improving children’s care services, a peer review warns. |
Children’s services hindered by ‘systemic challenges’
09/10/2023 Children’s services are doing ‘inspiring work’ but find themselves held back by ‘wider, systemic challenges’, a council chiefs say. |
The case for regulating childcare placement costs
05/10/2023 Cllr Christopher Carubia, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Wirral Council makes the case for Government regulation of childcare placement costs. |
Cumberland working to reduce ‘escalating costs’
26/09/2023 Cumberland Council says it is working hard to control ‘escalating costs’, but it is facing a potential overspend of £17.5m. |
Concern over Bristol schools’ app use to monitor children
22/09/2023 Campaign groups have accused Bristol schools who use an app to monitor pupils and their families of ‘intrusive monitoring’. |
‘Shockingly high’ justice system involvement among care-experienced children
21/09/2023 A third of care-experienced children born from 1996-99 received a youth justice caution or conviction – a finding described as a ‘terrible indictment of the failure of local authorities’. |
Mental health top reason for social care absences
20/09/2023 New research has claimed mental health and stress is the most common reason for social care staff sickness and absence in more than 77% of councils. |
Cuts see ‘children’s services run like A&E’, charities warn
14/09/2023 Councils are spending more on crisis intervention in children’s services, a group of leading charities has warned today. |
Swindon children's services 'inadequate'
11/09/2023 Swindon BC’s children’s services have been judged inadequate by Ofsted. |
Nine councils in section 114 warning
25/08/2023 Nine councils within the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (Sigoma) have warned they could issue a section 114 notice by 2025. |
EXCLUSIVE: Questions over child age assessments
25/08/2023 Council directors have raised doubts over Government plans to take over age assessments of unaccompanied asylum seeking children. |
Asylum ‘perma-backlog’ to impact councils
22/08/2023 Reforms to the UK’s asylum system are likely to pile more pressure on councils struggling to support unaccompanied children, a new report has found. |
Service costs ‘unmanageable’, city council warns
21/08/2023 Coventry City Council has projected a £12.1m overspend in its budget and warned that service costs are becoming ‘unmanageable’. |
Deprivation of liberty applications surge
07/08/2023 The number of applications seeking authorisation to deprive children of their liberty has increased following the launch of a dedicated court. |
Peterborough City Council issued with improvement notice
04/08/2023 Peterborough City Council has been issued with an improvement notice following an Ofsted report that raised concerns about the council's children’s services. |
Progress at Herefordshire’s children’s services
03/08/2023 Ofsted has found improvements at Herefordshire’s children’s services but said more should be done to ensure consistent progress. |
Education and children's services top complaints to Ombudsman
26/07/2023 The Ombudsman’s annual complaints statistics have revealed education and children’s services as the key areas of concern, making up a quarter of the workload. |
Councils look to end children's services partnership
21/07/2023 The strategic partnership for children’s services between Hampshire CC and Isle of Wight Council could end after a decade of work between the two. |
Investigation reveals complaints backlog in Kent
06/07/2023 Kent County Council has a backlog of 170 unanswered children’s services and education complaints, an investigation has revealed. |
Increased referrals causing children’s services overspend
06/07/2023 Four in five of England’s largest councils overspent on their children’s services budget last year because of more young people requiring care since pandemic. |
'Not acceptable' to treat age disputed young people as spontaneous arrivals
06/07/2023 It is ‘not acceptable’ that age disputed young people from asylum hotels are treated as spontaneous arrivals, says head of directors of children’s services. |
Ofsted chief apologises after Doncaster abuse and neglect
13/06/2023 Chief inspector Amanda Spielman has apologised after Ofsted failed to uncover ‘very serious’ abuse and neglect at three residential settings in Doncaster. |
Vulnerable youngsters failed by care system
24/05/2023 ‘Vulnerable young people are being failed’ by the children’s social care system, a former education secretary has warned. |
‘Shocking’ number of children in care far from home
25/04/2023 A ‘shocking’ number of children are being moved into care far from their communities, according to a campaigning charity. |
Kent receives improvement notice for SEND failings
06/04/2023 An improvement notice has been issued to Kent CC after it failed to turn around its special educational needs and disability (SEND) services. |
Trust for children's services at Star Hobson council goes live
03/04/2023 The Trust tasked with running Bradford Council’s children’s services following the tragic death of 16-month-old Star Hobson has gone live. |
Councils lack skills in deal-making, says commissioner
30/03/2023 Children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, suggested support should be provided to negotiate the market for placements for children in care. |
East Riding children's services rated ‘good’
28/03/2023 East Riding of Yorkshire Council's children's services have been rated good, less than three years after being told by inspectors they were inadequate. |
‘Significant concerns' over regional care cooperatives
23/03/2023 Regional care cooperatives (RCCs) will not resolve the issues around child care placements, councils have said. |
Government accused of eroding local support services for children
10/03/2023 The leader of the school and college leaders’ union has accused the Government of eroding local support services for children. |
Herefordshire Council to retain control of children’s services
02/03/2023 Herefordshire Council will be able to retain control over its troubled children's services department for now but it will have to demonstrate improvements. |
Children's social worker numbers drop for first time since 2017
27/02/2023 The Government has been urged to act after official figures showed the number of children’s social workers has fallen for the first time since 2017. |
Commissioner warns children's services could be removed from Sefton
07/02/2023 A Government-appointed commissioner has warned Sefton Council’s children’s services are still in ‘severe difficulties’ and could be removed from local control. |
Council calls for review into missing children
30/01/2023 Brighton & Hove City Council has called for a safeguarding review after dozens of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children went missing from a hotel in the city. |
SEND advice service requires 'drastic' overhaul
13/01/2023 A SEND advice service has been savaged in an independent report that found it had contributed to a £10m tribunals bill for Birmingham City Council. |
'Shocking' findings on children in care
03/01/2023 A charity campaigning for children in care is calling on the Government to address the instability faced by many children in the care system. |
