Dwindling reserves and a forecast £17m gap in Medway Council’s budget this year have put the authority’s finances at risk and led to calls for more funding for the sector.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has provided more clarity on funding but Covid-19 has left local authorities with inadequate funds to actively promote the welfare of children, says Jenny Coles.
The Royal College of Paediatric and Children’s Health has called for the reversal of £1bn of real term cuts to the public health grant for local authorities.
Government must support families – including ‘corporate’ ones – instead of heaping scorn on them when low income leaves them struggling to cope, writes Kathy Evans of Children England.
The recovery of crisis-hit Northamptonshire County Council will depend on the authority’s ability to improve its children’s services which still pose a risk to the council’s finances, commissioners...
Council leaders have warned of a child mental health crisis after the number of disorders recorded in England increased by more than half in just four years.
Thousands of children could miss out on care unless the government clarifies what councils must legally provide as they cut services, the Children’s Commissioner has told PF.
Stricken Northamptonshire County Council is looking for a new permanent finance director who will “roll their sleeves up” and is ready to make “hard decisions”.
