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Review of sufficiency strategies in London

report
posted on 2023-06-10, 02:51 authored by Ellie Suh, Lisa HolmesLisa Holmes
Under the Children Act 1989 section 22G, local authorities have the duty to provide accommodation and support for looked after children in their local authority area as far as reasonably practicable. This is referred to as ‘sufficiency duty’; each authority communicates how it intends to meet this duty by issuing a publicly available sufficiency strategy. In recent years, there has been increased demand for children’s services nationwide, and London authorities are experiencing a similar pattern. The demographics of children and young people requiring the support continues to evolve, and their needs have become more complex. However, suitable accommodation for London’s looked after children, children’s homes in particular, has been in short supply. The cost pressure is increasing, as the spending on children’s services in London is expected to escalate from £1.8 billion in 2018/19. Also, the concerns regarding the use of unregulated placements and quality of provisions add another layer of complexity to the sufficiency duty of London authorities. On this premise, this report provides an analysis of 33 London authorities’ sufficiency strategies which aims to assess sustainability initiatives across London boroughs and to inform the development of a collaborative approach. The study utilised the 31 sufficiency strategy documents issued by London authorities, four of which formed two bi-boroughs.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Publisher

Rees Centre, Department of Education

Place of publication

University of Oxford, UK

Department affiliated with

  • Social Work and Social Care Publications

Full text available

  • No

Legacy Posted Date

2022-03-10

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2022-03-10

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