Bridget Phillipson MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 9 Dec 2024 · Skills Training · Hansard source

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  The previous Government left behind a skills system that was fragmented and failing: falling numbers of apprenticeships for young people; adults unable to find the training courses they need; businesses confused; and no plans to equip people with the skills for the economy and opportunities of tomorrow. We are turning the page by establishing Skills England to unify that fragmented landscape, and bringing forward a plan for post-16 education and skills, which will deliver the education and training pathways that our economy, employers and learners need.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement about the Government’s plans for children’s social care. I know all Members here today will agree that caring for vulnerable children is among the most vital responsibilities of any Government. This Government treat no issue with more importance than the urgent challenge of improving children’s social care. This is a new era of child-centred government, of putting children first. That is how we achieve our opportunity mission, how we break the unfair link between background and success, and how we support families to achieve and thrive. Our mission applies to all children, especially the most vulnerable, those for whom childhood is a storm of instability, neglect and even violence—denied the foundation of love that is the first right of any child. Children’s social care alone cannot right all those wrongs. We need a joined-up approach, across Government and beyond. That is why mission-led government is so important. But done well, children’s social care empowers families to support their children, putting them back on the path to happy, healthy lives. It is with great concern that I come here today to tell Members what they must already know: the system that the Government have inherited from Opposition Members is broken and failing far too many children. It is kept alive by the efforts of our amazing workforce. I want to thank all those working so hard to keep children safe, but children’s social care is struggling under an impossible weight. We have more children in care in this country than ever before. With more and more money following children into the most expensive part of the system, resources are sucked out of preventive services, pushing yet more young people into care. And so the vicious cycle continues: higher costs but poorer outcomes. My hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) rightly identified that cycle in his review over two years ago: a broken market for care, vulnerable to the shameful profiteering of too many private companies. Local government spending on children’s social care has risen by £4.4 billion over the last decade. What do we have to show for it? A system too busy treating symptoms to tackle causes, a system that costs more for taxpayers but delivers less for families, and a system that is failing our children and which is crying out for change. Today, the Labour Government begin that change: ambitious, wide-ranging reform to lift the life chances of our most vulnerable children. I am pleased to announce the publication of a policy statement that puts children’s social care back in the service of children and families, breaking the cycle of crisis intervention. This is the biggest reform of children’s social care in a generation. It starts with the acknowledgement that, 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. We will simplify the way we fund local government next year, consolidating more than £400 million of children’s social care funding within the local government finance settlement. With immediate effect, we will suspend the payment by results aspect of the supporting families funding. 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. The Deputy Prime Minister and I are ambitious about reforming how we work with children and families, from when they encounter challenges right through to building solutions. We will set out funding plans for children’s social care, and future investment in preventive services, in the upcoming local government finance settlement. All families face challenges at one time or another. I want to help them to come up with their own solutions, wherever possible, so we will legislate to embed family group decision-making as an offer all families can access. Early targeted support minimises more costly and disruptive intervention later, so it is much better value for taxpayers. But ultimately, that is not the point. The most important point is that it is better for children’s lives now and in the future, building that bedrock of family love and support that we all need. We know that we must also have strong child protection measures in place, so today I am setting out plans to require every council to have multi-agency child safeguarding teams, consulting schools and teachers to stop children falling through the cracks. 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. That is why I was not just pleased but deeply proud when the Government announced the largest ever national investment in kinship care at last month’s Budget—an investment in the futures of vulnerable children. That money will trial a new kinship allowance to help family members and friends to care for vulnerable children. We will also extend the “virtual school head” programme, placing it on a statutory footing and championing the education of children in kinship care. Even with these changes, however, there will remain instances in which children must enter the care system, so it is vital that we fix the broken care market. We know that the quality and safety of children’s homes in England is simply not good enough. Year after year, the previous Government sat on their hands while children were let down— their life chances wrecked, their hopes dashed, and their dignity ignored. I know that many Opposition Members shared the disappointment I felt as Ministers in that Government ignored these issues and left them to drift, when they could have gripped them as this Government do today. We will act decisively, helping children to remain close to the people who love them whenever possible, and ending the reckless profiteering of some providers. 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. Those are actions to fix the care market, but Members should be in no doubt that if companies continue to make extreme profits at the cost of vulnerable children, I will go further and harder. We will introduce new powers allowing the Government to directly cap the level of profit from children’s social care placements. At their best, private providers can help improve the lives of vulnerable children, but when the focus drifts towards exploitation in the pursuit of profit, be in no doubt that I will act. These are the reforms to deliver the best placements for children, but the journey does not end there. We must give young people leaving care the right support as they make the transition to adult life. I was pleased to co-chair the ministerial care leaver board alongside the Deputy Prime Minister earlier this month. We will drive forward action across Government, and we will expand the staying close programme into a national entitlement of enhanced practical and emotional support for care leavers. It is time to fix the foundations of children’s social care, investing in the groundwork for a stronger sector, and that includes data. We will deliver on our manifesto commitment to improve the sharing of information for the benefit of all children, including those in care. We will change the law in two ways. First, we will introduce provisions for a “single unique child identifier” to join up data from different services, which is a further step towards ensuring that services work harder for children, parents and professionals. Secondly, we will establish a new duty, providing a clear legal basis for those working with children to share information for the purposes of safeguarding. We are determined to ensure that children’s social care is an excellent area in which to work. We have published online resources to improve the health and wellbeing of staff, and we are joining the national workload action group to cut unnecessary tasks, freeing up staff to concentrate on children and their families. While agency workers can help to manage fluctuations in demand, they are no substitute for a permanent workforce. Children and families deserve stable professional relationships. We will therefore limit the use of agency social workers by local authorities, acting to reverse the alarming increase in their prevalence. Every child deserves the best possible start in life, to grow up in a family filled with love, but not every child has that. There are still far too many who lack the stability, safety and love that they need to go on to happy and healthy lives. Our opportunity mission is for them, we are breaking down barriers for them, and the announcements that I have brought to the House today are for them—but we cannot achieve this alone. Keeping children safe is everyone’s business—not merely mine or the Government’s, but that of each of us in this House and all of us across the country. We need partnership with families, the workforce, carers, providers, health, police, schools, colleges—and, yes, with Members right across the House. Today is the start of much-needed change—change that will fix children’s social care; change that will keep families together where possible and children safe where necessary; change that will give each and every child the best start in life. The children of our great country deserve nothing less. I commend this statement to the House.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  We are calling time on the excess profiteering of big private providers, which are seeing profits of 20% to 30%. If they fail to act and bring down costs, we will legislate to cap their costs. This cannot continue; it has been left to drift for far too long, and local authorities such as my hon. Friend’s have been up against it, often facing an impossible task but doing great work where they can. We will work with councils, including on a regional basis, to provide accommodation for children and young people that is closer to home and of a higher quality, with better standards, and we will tackle unregistered and illegal provision.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  Like the hon. Gentleman, I have seen good examples of councils across the country that have started to take such action, but they have done so by going against the grain of Government policy. This time, councils will have the backing of the Government in making those changes. We will also ensure that they can take action on a regional basis, work together and collaborate, so that they can manage placements more effectively. That way, we will not just bring down costs to the taxpayer, which are spiralling out of control, but ensure that children can stay closer to family support networks, which is crucial to their long-term future.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right. There are big differences based on geography. I find it quite astounding that 25% of registered places are in the north-west of England. That is a staggering number, and sadly it means that far too many children are moving far from home, away from family networks and moving school or education provision. We need to make sure that that changes and that our most vulnerable children, who have often been through incredibly traumatic early childhood experiences and exposed to things that no child should ever see or witness, get the best possible support and standards. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to drive up standards and make sure that every child in his constituency who needs support through children’s social care has a much better experience and better adult life chances.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has consistently shared his personal experience, and who has demonstrated to so many young people what can be achieved, even when there are barriers to overcome. He knows as well as I do that far too many care-experienced young people in our country lack the support and backing that they deserve, and we are determined to change that. He is also right to point to the excellent work of my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister). I am delighted to have been able to set out many developments arising from that crucial work. There is so much more that we need to do together to put the rights and needs of vulnerable children at the heart of our policymaking.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I agree, and the Deputy Prime Minister is determined to drive forward change in this area, not just with more homes being built across our country, including social homes, but by taking action in the area that my hon. Friend describes, when children are leaving the care system. I assure her that the Government will act in those areas.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to highlight the fact that, sadly, a move to a different kind of placement, outside family care, is a necessary step for some children, for their safety and wellbeing, and in the interests of their long-term future. We are rolling out the Staying Close programme nationally to ensure that all care leavers get the support they deserve. We are also setting out plans around corporate parenting, to ensure that all of us fulfil our responsibilities to the children for whom we are responsible. I was delighted to chair, with the Deputy Prime Minister, the care leavers ministerial board, because there is more that all of us, across Government, need to do to ensure that care-experienced young people have their voices heard, and to ensure that we take action to address their concerns.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has long championed this cause and brings considerable expertise to the role that she now undertakes as Chair of the Select Committee. I look forward to discussing these issues with her and her Committee in due course. She is right to identify that child poverty is a significant issue in this area. That is why we got the work of the child poverty taskforce under way in August; we know that that work is crucial. What she has set out today is something that I have heard from parents the length and breadth of the country as part of the work that we are undertaking. It is important that, alongside tackling child poverty, we ensure that all families have early support and early intervention to ensure that they can thrive, and that, as she says, problems do not escalate in the way that they currently do.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I am working closely with the Deputy Prime Minister in this crucial area, and there will be more to say before too long about the local government finance settlement. As the hon. Member identifies, it is important that we rebalance the children’s social care system away from crisis intervention and towards more timely and early support. We know that that is where we make the biggest difference to children’s lives, and that is also what is driving the cost pressures that, sadly, lots of local authorities are seeing, as ever increasing numbers of children go through the children’s social care system. We are determined to make progress and to put more support in place earlier for families.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend’s local authority has done brilliant work in this area. We are keen to build on the best examples that already exist around the country. I know that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary was impressed with everything that she saw as part of that visit. We are determined to ensure that we back councils and their ability to work regionally to deliver better placements closer to home, and to bring children back into their local area wherever possible. My hon. Friend will know, as I do, that children thrive when they are close to family and support networks. That allows for much stronger and better life chances as they move into adulthood. I look forward to working with him to ensure that councils have the powers to do more. We will set out more as soon as parliamentary time allows.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in praising the work of council staff and the many councils across our country taking action in this area. I agree that we can learn a lot from the best examples of support for care-experienced young people and the overall approach taken around children’s social care. I look forward to working with him in that area and note the point he raises. When it comes to ensuring that local councils have a role in the financial oversight of the system, we will of course take his views into account. The regime we will set out will allow us to provide much clearer and greater scrutiny those providers that are, frankly, profiting shamefully from some of the most vulnerable children in our country.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to identify the urgent need to do more to support care leavers at the point when they move through the system and throughout their lives. That is why I am working with the Deputy Prime Minister and other Government colleagues so that we all pull together and do much more to deliver better life chances for care leavers. We will roll out the Staying Close programme nationally to ensure that all young people leaving care have the support they need. We are also setting out corporate parenting proposals to ensure that all of us pull together to listen to the views and experiences of young people. I am sure that, like me, she has heard directly from care leavers about how badly they feel failed by a system that has not properly reflected their needs and experiences, and it is vital that we put the needs of care-experienced young people front and centre in our discussions.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend: that joint working is important, and it provides much clearer support for families who often do not want to have to repeat their experiences time and again to different sets of professionals and who want better and more targeted support. I have seen great examples, including in Lewisham earlier this week, where the pathfinder programme ensures that all children get the support they need through more timely intervention and through working closely with families. I know that Derby city council has done some excellent work in that area. There is an overlap between children’s social care and SEND, and they have similar challenges. We want to ensure that we share practice between those two areas where possible.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I agree, and I will be working very closely with the Chancellor and the Deputy Prime Minister in this area. The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the increase in unsafe unregistered placements. That is why we are giving Ofsted further powers to act and why I set out in the Command Paper that we will make sure that councils and others have the powers they need to deliver more placements for children. I encourage him to look closely at that work; I think he will find much that he can welcome in it.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  We will look at all factors including the one identified by the hon. Gentleman, as well as at areas of good practice where many local councils, despite the many difficulties they face, are taking forward innovative new ways of working, and doing all they can to support children and families. There is much we can learn from good examples that exist across the country.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I agree that there is still much more that we need to do to support kinship carers and foster families; that is why the measures we set out in the Budget are so important. From speaking to kinship carers in my constituency on Friday, I know that there are still too many barriers in place, including differences between local authorities, issues around access to mental health support, and the need to do more to support kinship carers in balancing work and caring responsibilities. I look forward to working with the hon. Gentleman on those important areas.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend and his council on the work they have undertaken to deliver better outcomes for care-experienced young people. It is crucial, and I am sure there is much we can learn from that work. The Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) will be happy to have a conversation with him to discuss that further. We will be setting out further steps to make clear the funding arrangements, but it is essential that we put more money into children’s social care. We are doing that, and we will set out more in due course through the local government finance settlement.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  It is vital that we drive up standards and quality in children’s social care placements, and we want to make sure that we are providing support for councils, charities and others to do precisely that. The highest possible standards and quality of care are essential for children and young people who have been through some very traumatic experiences and deserve our full support. I agree that we must take action on excessive profiteering. It has been left to drift for far too long, and this Government will act.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady has rightly championed the cause of kinship carers for many years in this House, and I pay tribute to her for drawing attention to this crucial area. The measures we set out in the Budget represent the single biggest investment in kinship care ever made by a Government. This is an important first step, but it is not the only action we need to take in this area. I will, of course, work with her and with Members on both sides of the House to make sure that kinship carers have all the support they need. The hon. Lady is right that, in this House, we all bear a responsibility to represent the needs of vulnerable children, whose voices are often not heard in our deliberations. We will seek to bring forward measures as soon as parliamentary time allows, because we know that the crisis we face is urgent. Yes, we will work with councils on the services they can provide, either directly or by working with charities and others. I have seen great examples across the country of that already happening. Councils need the Government to give them further backing to do this on a bigger scale, and the plans we are setting out today will provide for precisely that. Today, I am calling time on excessive profiteering, and if providers do not respond, we will not hesitate to bring forward measures to cap their profits. We are looking very closely at special schools, too.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right that there are many long-standing challenges in this area. On corporate parenting, today’s Command Paper sets out the steps that we intend to take to bring forward further plans in this area. I look forward to working with her on the shape and scale of those plans, because it is essential that we all take our responsibilities incredibly seriously, as I know she does.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend, from her professional expertise before coming to this House, understands better than most how important social work, early intervention and support for families are in this area. She is right to identify that we see an increasing number of children in unsafe and unregistered placements. They are illegal to run, but Ofsted found 887 unregistered homes, up from 370 in 2022-23. We will give Ofsted the powers it needs to tackle unregistered provision. We need to hit providers who are behaving in this way where it hurts, as the threat of prosecution clearly is not working.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  As we take forward further proposals both for legislation and for wider change and reform across the sector, we look forward to working not only with family rights organisations, charities and others to make sure that they are involved in the design of services, but with our brilliant and often unsung workforce—as my hon. Friend identifies—who often do their work behind the scenes and without the recognition they deserve. Our social work workforce and others play a crucial role, and we are determined to do more to support them in their vital endeavours.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am visiting Northern Ireland soon, when I look forward to discussing both that area and wider issues relating to education with counterparts in Northern Ireland.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Children’s Social Care · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for speaking about his experiences. He will know that until quite recently this area was perhaps little understood. It is so important that people like him are able to speak openly; it demonstrates bravery and will encourage others to do the same. I will happily look at the report and the work that he mentions, and ensure that routes back into family care, for those children for whom that is possible, are considered in our ongoing work.