Newsroom

The county council was upfront about the financial pressures on our vital children and families department when we delivered our 2022/2023 budget during a marathon session at County Hall last month.

In just a year, the number of children coming into our care has risen by nearly 10%, with more-and-more older adolescents needing our professional support. As a result, the budget forecasted an overspend of £1.7m in my department.

Due to sound financial planning, the council still delivered a balanced budget. We hope to do the same for the next three years - but it is clear to me that we need to fix our departmental overspend while continuing to offer the highest quality support to our vulnerable service users.

That's why we are investing an initial £1.1 million in a preventive programme we call whole family safeguarding. This strategy will help families and children early on, so their lives do not deteriorate to a point where they need intensive help from us.  

This plan has the potential to deliver success with its focus on both vulnerable adults and children, as halting problems with mum or dad, such as drug and alcohol abuse, gives us a better chance at preventing the child from becoming vulnerable.

The £1.1 million we are investing in our innovative new strategy will combine with other existing departmental budgets to fund several important projects, including creating a greater and more permanent social carer workforce through recruiting extra apprentices.  

Whole family safeguarding will also intensify our multi-disciplinary approach to children and family support, bringing together all relevant professionals into one cohesive team, increasing direct contact with families and removing any duplication so we save resources.

We will prioritise kinship care, investing in improved support to carers who are looking after the vulnerable child of a relative or friend, thereby keeping the child closer to their birth family, but in a safe place, rather than taking them into foster care or residential care.

I want to make it crystal clear that any vulnerable child or family requiring our services will always be able to access them – no matter what it takes, we will always find sufficient funds in my department. 

Nonetheless, I’m buoyed by the shift to a whole family safeguarding approach and the potential it offers as a fantastic tool to help stabilise the lives of at-risk children and families while contributing to a sounder financial footing.