The financial benefits generated by the last Labour government’s Sure Start centres were more than double the amount of the programme’s costs, according to a leading think-tank.
The mayor of the North East has set out plans to help parents with the cost of childcare as part of a drive to tackle “unacceptable” levels of child poverty in the region.
An ambitious expansion in free childcare for working parents may not represent value for money, and could undermine wider socio-economic objectives, the national spending watchdog has warned.
Government spending cuts have restricted resources in local government and are a factor in the rising number of children in care, a senior judge has said.
England’s largest independent children’s care providers recorded profits of £310m in 2021-22, according to the Local Government Association, prompting renewed calls for greater government oversight.
The Scottish government has succeeded in expanding subsidised early learning and childcare places, but the sector faces risks from budget, workforce and market pressures, Audit Scotland has warned.
The failure to adopt radical and fully funded long term children’s care reforms represents a “missed opportunity”, a House of Lords Committee has said.
Conflicting regulations and insufficient funding mean local authorities are struggling to meet the needs of children in care, a senior officer has warned.
The lack of skills within local authorities to manage soaring children’s care costs is a “worry” and the government should intervene, a senior official has said.
Proposals to improve oversight and transparency in the children’s care market are unlikely to significantly reduce costs without action on profiteering, experts have warned.
Children’s care leaders are concerned next week’s Autumn Statement could bring further austerity, forcing them to cut preventative services in a “false economy” leading to higher costs and worse...
Councils have no room for cuts in children’s care budgets, and soaring demand means the sector will need three quarters of a billion pounds just to “stay still” this year, a senior officer has warned.
The children’s care sector needs a workforce strategy to improve services and conditions for staff, with the regulator labelling the situation “more urgent than ever”.
The failure of the London Borough of Lambeth to set a local tax rate during the 1980s directly contributed to sexual abuse in its children's homes, a critical report said.
Ambitious plans to expand early learning and childcare in Scotland could be undermined by risks around infrastructure and workforce, auditors have warned.
Sure Start centres – that have been closing in their hundreds over the past decade - offer major health benefits to disadvantaged children, a think-tank has found.
