Association of Directors of Children’s Services hails decision by ministers to end payment by results as “hugely positive step”
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has described Government plans to suspend payment by results as “a hugely positive step towards ensuring that the limited funds in the system are used in the best interest of children and families”.
The Government announced yesterday (18 November) that it would, “with immediate effect”, suspend the payment by results aspect of the supporting families funding.
It noted: “We will renew the way we work with the sector, co-designing services together to meet the needs of children and families in their communities.”
Payment by results (PBR) is a mechanism that encourages local authorities to focus on achieving positive outcomes for families. Local authorities can claim PBR funding when they can demonstrate that they have achieved the outcomes they were allocated.
Andy Smith, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, said: ”The government’s move to end payment by results for the Supporting Families Programme is a hugely positive step in the right direction towards ensuring that the limited funds in the system are used in the best interest of children and families, rather than on the mechanisms of tracking and reporting on this vital work.”
Other key children’s social care reforms announced yesterday included an emphasis on early intervention, a crackdown on profiteering by children's care providers, and the introduction of a “single unique child identifier”.
The Government also announced plans to legislate to embed family group decision-making as an offer all families can access.
In a statement to Parliament, Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson said: “Wherever possible, children should remain with their families. That is where children belong. It is on that foundation of family love that children can live happy lives. That is why early intervention, tackling problems before they escalate, holds the key to brighter futures for our children.”
She added: “Sometimes, despite the best efforts of all involved, children cannot remain at home, and our priority then is to support them to live with kinship carers or in fostering families, connected to extended family in a stable home.”
“We will rebalance and stabilise the placements market, including by establishing a financial oversight scheme for the very first time. We will make the market more transparent, and we will empower local authorities to collaborate on placements, including through regional care co-operatives. We will give Ofsted the power to move more quickly against unregistered care providers and tackle patterns of poor care.”
Responding to the measures, Shadow Secretary of State, Laura Trott said: “I welcome the Government’s focus today on children’s social care, and on the profiteering issues that we identified and set up the market intervention advisory group to look at when we were in government. However, at the heart of the problem is a lack of high-quality places for looked-after children. That is what is causing the high cost of placements, as demand is outstripping supply.
“[…] The Secretary of State has indicated that she would like to take steps on early intervention, which is obviously vital. Those were not specified in her statement, but I hope that she will bring them to the House at the earliest opportunity, as they are critical to solving the issue. She said that she wants to scrap payment by results. Given that that is an early intervention programme, on the basis of what evidence is she doing so? Does she have an evaluation of what scrapping payment by results will do?”
Responding to the other children’s social care reforms, Andy Smith, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, said: “We have long argued that the placement market for children in care is dysfunctional and in need of urgent reform if it is to deliver the best outcomes for the children and young people, so the suite of measures here are welcome.
“We are also pleased to see this government’s commitment to invest in early help and prevention as this can deliver real benefits for children as well as their families. Prevention is always better than cure and intervening early can prevent future misery and harm as well as cost to the public purse. To consolidate this support, it must be backed by long-term, sustainable funding for local government and children’s services. We urge the government to use the spring budget to set out sufficient multi-year settlements for local authorities so they can effectively plan for the future.”
Lottie Winson
