Government has ‘failed’ Barnsley’s children says councillor as social care costs rise

Barnsley Council must save £76,000 in its children’s services budget next year, against a backdrop of increasing numbers of youngsters entering the care system, and the number of high-cost placements also increasing.

The Local Government Association found that the number of children’s social care placements costing £10,000 or more per week has risen sharply in five years.

Nearly every council surveyed said a lack of choice in placements was driving the high prices, and nine in 10 highlighted the fact that children need help with increasing complex needs.

The LGA is calling for urgent funding for children’s social care in the upcoming provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, which outlines how much each council will receive from the government for the coming financial year.

Councillor Trevor Cave, cabinet spokesperson for children’s services told today’s (December 13) Barnsley Cabinet meeting that there are 20 high-cost placements in the borough, and told the government they are ‘failing our children’ due to the lack of funding given to councils.

Figures show Barnsley Council lost 33 per cent of its spending power between 2010 and 2019, putting it among the 50 worst-affected local authorities in England.

“In Barnsley, we have over 20 young people, where that cost is somewhere between five and £10,000 per week for a place, and these are children that are being looked after for an emergency basis, and it tends to be longer term.” said coun Cave.

“We want to see children in those positions, get the right care in the right place at the right time, no question about that. But to do that, there has to be a commitment and settlement.

“Government knew about that before the recent announcement, and yet they failed to act. They failed our children.

“They still have time to think about the consequences of inaction. They still have to work out the settlement for local government. And I demand on behalf of Barnsley’s children that this is improved tremendously.

“£5,000 to £10,000 a week over a year is the cost of a single team of social workers in this borough.

“That’s a stark choice we face.”