WIREDGOV

Cllr Roy Perry, Chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, responded to the Children and Social Work Bill announced in the Queen's Speech

"Councils are committed to improving children and young people's experience of the care system. Many of the provisions outlined in this Bill have the potential to support the good work already taking place in local authorities across the country, and could make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people.

"Adoption is not right for every child, but neither the local authority nor the court should shy away from making that decision when it is in the child's best interests. Finding loving homes for children is one of the most important jobs that councils do, with local authorities at the heart of efforts to find permanent homes for some of our most vulnerable young people. The Government's determination to drive longer term decision making through the court system is encouraging, as the recent decline in the number of children adopted from care will only be tackled through close working between social workers and the judiciary.

"However, we must take care that the ongoing focus on adoption does not distract from the importance of other types of long and short-term care for vulnerable children. Local and national government must continue to work towards improving the experience of all children in care – whether they are being looked after by friends or family, in foster care or a special guardianship arrangement, or in residential care.

"It is important to be clear that many children and young people have a very positive experience of the care system. Research shows that the love and support of foster families, kinship carers or residential care workers can help children in a range of ways, improving their progress in school and helping them to overcome some of the trauma they may have experienced earlier in their lives.

"There is room for improvement though. Proposals to provide clear, consistent support to young people leaving care until the age of 25 is supported by councils, but this must be fully funded.

"In addition, improving regulation of social workers will increase public confidence in the profession and a sense of pride in the many highly-talented social workers. However we need to ensure this is not overly bureaucratic and doesn't deter new recruits or existing staff from remaining in social work. This is also an excellent opportunity to align the new system with DBS record checks so time is not wasted on repeating lengthy checks that can take months to complete."