Vulnerable children and families in England will be better supported by a fundamental shift in how children’s social care services are delivered, guided by the findings of an independent review of children’s social care published today.

The government is setting out initial new measures in response to recommendations set out in Josh MacAlister’s independent review of children’s social care, which looked at how children and their families interact with the care system and how it can be improved.

Families most at risk will be supported to stay safely together, with a focus on early help, preventing them from reaching crisis point.

As part of this, the Government has revealed plans to set up a new National Implementation Board of sector experts and people with experience of leading transformational change and the care system. It will also boost efforts to recruit more foster carers, increase support for social workers including on leadership, recruitment and retention, improve data sharing, and implement a new evidence-based framework for all the professionals working in children’s social care.

Seven areas of England will also receive funding to set up family hubs which offer early help and intervention, in recognition of the importance of strong, joined up local services as a foundation for an improved social care system.

Local authorities will also receive funding for schemes that support vulnerable children to remain engaged in their education and strengthen links between social care and education.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, said:

This is the start of a journey to change the culture and dramatically reform the children’s social care system. 

Everything we do to raise the outcomes for children and families must be backed by evidence. This report will be central in taking forward our ambition to ensure every child has a loving and stable home and we will continue working with experts and people who have experienced care to deliver change on the ground.

I am grateful to Josh MacAlister for his work, as well as to the families, young people, and professionals who shared their experiences. 

We are ready to meet the challenge set by this review and I will set out my plans for bold and ambitious change in the coming months.

The seven new areas receiving funding for Family Hubs will build on a successful network of centres that are already up and running and are making a transformative difference in the lives of parents who may not have an immediate support network. A further five areas will also receive part of a £12 million investment, in addition to the 75 areas that will receive part of a £302 million pot of funding, delivering on the manifesto commitment to a network of Family Hubs around the country.

Funding will also be provided to LAs for continued delivery of the Social Workers in Schools and Designated Safeguarding Lead Supervision programmes, building on successful pilots which have supported young people in hundreds of schools since launching in September 2020. Through strengthened working between social care and schools, they have helped improve early identification of need, provided better support for families from social care, and kept vulnerable young people engaged with their education, helping to boost attendance, behaviour and attainment.

To support vulnerable children to remain engaged in their education and strengthen links between social care and education, local authorities will also receive funding in 2022/23 to continue schemes that put social workers onsite in schools and provide designated safeguarding leads with supervision from senior social workers.

These measures respond to findings in today’s report which call for more help for families in crisis, decisive action in response to abuse, and a commitment for those in care to benefit from lifelong loving relationships. Plans to reform the system include:

• Setting up a National Implementation Board of sector experts and people with experience of leading transformational change, and with experience of the care system;
• Working with local authorities to boost efforts to recruit more foster carers, ensuring children have access to the right placements at the right time;
• Reframing and refocusing the support social workers receive in the early part of their careers, particularly to enhance their skills and knowledge in child protection;
• Joining up data from across the public sector to increase transparency – both between safeguarding partners and to the wider public, setting out more detail later this year; and
• Developing a National Children’s Social Care Framework, which will set direction for the system and point everyone to the best available evidence to support families and protect children.

Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said:

The publication of Josh MacAlister’s Review of Children’s Social Care is an important opportunity for all of us working with, and for, children. We must grasp this unique moment to deliver ambitious reform, designed around children and families. A system that delivers so we can properly shift the dial on their experiences and outcomes.

Whilst the publication of reviews is only ever the first stage in a process, and the ideas held in them only as good as their implementation, we must not underestimate the need to act – so many children’s lives and futures are at stake. Too many tell me they feel let down by the services designed to protect and support them, so let’s seize this chance to do better. We need everywhere to be as good as the best and we must have no tolerance for anything less than excellent.

I look forward to doing whatever I can to make this much needed reform a reality. We owe it to England’s children.

Today’s announcement builds on measures the government has taken to address the most urgent issues facing vulnerable young people, following a generous settlement for children’s social care at last autumn’s Spending Review.

This includes banning under-16s from unregulated accommodation, bringing in improved standards of care, providing the largest package of children’s social care placements since 2010, investing millions in programmes that support families in crisis and young people leaving the care system and working with experts to tackle the barriers to children’s school attendance.

Recruitment, retention and professional development of child and family social workers in England has also been prioritised, and backed by £100 million over the last two years alone. Through these efforts, the number of child and family social workers is increasing every year and the size of the workforce has grown by 14% since 2017.

A new £40 million competition to kick-start commercial self-driving services, such as delivery vehicles and passenger shuttles, has been launched today (Monday 23 May) by Lord Grimstone, Minister for Investment. The funding could create tens of thousands of skilled jobs across the UK over the next decade.

The ‘Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility’ competition will provide grants to help roll out commercial use self-driving vehicles across the UK from 2025, delivering convenience for consumers and making journeys safer, greener and more reliable.

The competition will help bring together companies and investors so that sustainable business models to be rolled out nationally and exported globally.

Types of self-driving vehicles that could be deployed include delivery vans, passenger buses, shuttles and pods, as well as vehicles that move people and luggage at airports and containers at shipping ports.

Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone said:

Self-driving vehicles have the potential to revolutionise people’s lives, whether its by helping to better connect people who rely on public transport with jobs, local shops, and vital services, or by making it easier for those who have mobility issues to order and access services conveniently.

This funding will help unlock the incredible potential of this new and growing industry, building on the continued development of self-driving technology, attracting investment and helping make our transport cleaner, safer and more efficient.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said:

We know that self-driving vehicles have the potential to revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys cleaner, easier and more reliable. But our absolute priority is harnessing the technology to improve road safety.

With around 88% of road collisions currently caused by human error, this funding will drive the introduction of new technology to improve travel for all, while boosting economic growth and highly skilled jobs across the nation.

The competition will cement the UK’s reputation as a global leader in self-driving vehicle technology, unlocking a new industry that could be worth £42 billion to the UK economy by 2035, potentially creating 38,000 new skilled jobs.

£1.5 million of the funding will be used to study and explore using self-driving vehicles as a means of public transport that could provide an alternative to mass transit systems. This includes, for example, using self-driving vehicles on routes separated from other traffic that could be cheaper and more flexible than new railway lines.

The UK government is continuing to develop a comprehensive legal and assurance framework for self-driving vehicles to ensure the safety of the technology. The government announced a Transport Bill in the recent Queen’s Speech that will introduce comprehensive legislation for self-driving vehicles to enable safe and responsible deployment.

The first vehicles to be listed as self-driving in the UK – vehicles approved under the Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) Regulation – could be available for people to purchase, lease or rent later this year. Vehicles will undergo rigorous testing and will only be permitted to drive themselves when they have met stringent standards.

The work undertaken by the government and its partners has already ensured that the UK has a proven track record in leading connected and self-driving vehicle innovation, enabling joint public and private investment of £440 million.

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Chief Executive Mike Hawes said:

Self-driving vehicles offer major benefits to society – improving road safety, supporting new jobs and economic growth, and enabling greater mobility for everyone – so the UK is rightly seeking to be at the forefront of this technological evolution. Recent regulatory reforms have helped Britain establish itself as a leader in the rollout out of self-driving passenger vehicles, and today’s announcement is a significant step towards self-driving public transport and goods delivery services becoming a reality. This new funding competition will help drive innovation and, potentially, private investment in UK automotive, ensuring cutting-edge self-driving technology finds a clearer path to UK roads.

Notes to editors

Interested parties can find out more about the competition, which is run by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV).

Government will be introducing a comprehensive legal framework to ensure safe and responsible deployment of self-driving vehicles.

Vehicles will undergo rigorous testing and only be approved as self-driving when they have met stringent standards and can safely and lawfully drive themselves without driver monitoring.

Drivers with existing technology, such as assistance systems like cruise control, auto start/stop and lane tracking, must always remain in control of their vehicle – these products are not defined as self-driving.

Currently, there are no vehicles approved for self-driving on Britain’s roads meaning drivers must always remain in control of the vehicle.

In 2035, 80% of the Britain’s jobs relating to CAV technology production are estimated to be in software-related industries, where Britain’s capabilities are strong, the value of the technologies is high, and the labour intensity of production is high. The remaining 20% would be in the production of CAV hardware such as sensors. Over 90% of the jobs created in developing CAV software and over 80% of the jobs relating to the manufacture of CAV hardware are expected to be in professional, technical and skilled trade occupations.

Government is working closely with industry and academia to ensure that these safety benefits are realised as the technology becomes more advanced, for instance by educating drivers so that they understand how to use self-driving vehicles.

In 2020, 88% of road accidents were caused by human error. SMMT estimate self-driving vehicles to save 3,900 lives and prevent 47,000 serious accidents by 2030.

The potential economic and societal benefits of the technology in the UK are vast. The Connected Places Catapult market forecast for connected and autonomous vehicles 2020 forecasts that in 2035, 40% of new UK car sales could have self-driving capabilities, with a total market value of £41.7 billion. This could in turn create 38,000 new skilled jobs.

About the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) is a joint Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for Transport (DfT) unit. Established in 2015, CCAV is an expert unit that is working with industry and academia to make everyday journeys greener, safer, more flexible and more reliable by shaping the safe and secure emergence of connected and self-driving vehicles in the UK and by leading the government’s Future of Transport strategy.

CCAV is developing regulation, investing in innovation and skills and engaging the public to realise the benefits of new transport technologies and to create a thriving connected and self-driving vehicle sector in the UK. It uses its unique position to bring together world-class expertise from across the public, private and academic sectors to create an environment in the UK for new technologies and business models where innovation, safety and regulation are delivered in unison.

• Half a billion pounds awarded to upgrade public buildings in England with affordable, low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures
• Measures will save an estimated average of £650 million of public organisations and taxpayers money per year on energy bills over the next 15 years
• Investment part of £2.5 billion total government spending on upgrading public sector buildings between 2020 and 2025

Hospitals, schools, libraries, museums and leisure centres across England are among hundreds of public buildings that will cut their use of expensive fossil fuels and save millions of pounds on bills, thanks to £553 million in government funding for affordable, low carbon heating and energy efficiency upgrades.

These upgraded heating systems, powered by cleaner, cheaper, renewable energy, will reduce the use of fossil fuels exposed to volatile global energy prices, support thousands of jobs, and also save taxpayers money as these measures will ensure public buildings are cheaper to heat. Local authorities, public bodies and taxpayers are expected to save an average of £650 million per year on energy bills over the next 15 years.

Funding through the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will see clean, efficient heat pumps installed and energy efficiency upgrades (such as insulation) fitted in 160 public sector organisations such as Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Manchester Fire and Rescue and historic venues at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Upgrades are already underway with grants awarded to 381 public sector organisations across England under first two phases of the Government’s scheme, with Phase 1 alone supporting up to 30,000 clean jobs in the clean heating and energy efficiency sectors.

Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan said:

Using cleaner technology to heat our civic buildings is helping to shield public sector organisations from costly fossil fuels, especially at a time of high global prices.

This funding will bring significant savings for taxpayers of well over half a billion pounds each year by making public buildings cheaper to run, heat and cool, whilst supporting economic growth and jobs across the country.

The first round of funding allocated through Phase 3 of the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will provide grants to 160 public sector organisations across the country to install 217 clean heat and energy efficiency projects.

The funding is part of the £6.6 billion the Government is investing this parliament to cut fossil fuel use and emissions from buildings, whilst creating high wage, high skill jobs. In addition to the funding allocated to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, over £2 billion is aimed specifically at lower-income households and saving people money on their energy bills.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75%, compared to 2017 levels, by 2037. Today’s funding is the first part of an overall £1.425 billion due to be allocated through Phase 3 over three years until 2025.

There will be multiple opportunities for the public sector to secure funding through Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. Guidance on how to apply for the next round of applications, Phase 3b, will be published in July, with the application window planned to open for applications in September.

Among the projects to be supported through Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme are:

• Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is receiving more than £70 million to decarbonise Queens Medical Centre.
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority is receiving £15.5 million to install low carbon heating in various notable institutions, including Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, the University of Salford, the National Football Museum and Manchester University.
• Hartismere Family of Schools will receive more than £600,000 to install a heat pump and improve the energy efficiency of Somerleyton Primary School in Suffolk, a school which was built in 1845 and still has a thatched roof.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, will invest over £4.4 million to decarbonise the Grade II listed Nash Conservatory and Jodrell Laboratory.
• Exmoor National Park Authority is receiving £115,000 to install clean heating at Pinkery Outdoor Education Centre, which is off-grid and has no mains gas, electricity or water.
• Leeds City Council is receiving £4.3 million to decarbonise 6 primary schools and 4 child day care centres.
• Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is receiving more than £50 million to install clean heating and energy efficiency measures in Birmingham Women’s Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital, while Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust will be awarded £32 million to decarbonise New Cross Hospital.

This funding will allow low carbon heating systems, including heat pumps and electric heating, to be installed in some of England’s most recognisable and loved public buildings, with many projects also fitting energy efficiency measures, such as wall and roof insulation, double glazing and LED lighting, and renewables such as solar panels.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

Here in Greater Manchester we know we need to be taking bold and meaningful steps at every level to become carbon neutral by 2038. By moving towards a greener economy we can foster new skills and create thousands of good jobs, powering our recovery from the pandemic and charting a course to a more sustainable, low-carbon future.

The £100m funding that we’ve been awarded so far is helping our public sector to lead the way in this effort, showing exactly what we can achieve with the right investment and a collaborative approach. We’ve retrofitted more than 130 public buildings and cut more than 8,000 tonnes of harmful emissions, at the same time as supporting and safeguarding almost 2,000 jobs in our local economy.

We hope this is just the start of a renewed effort to work together at national and local level, helping us to go further and faster in cutting emissions and tackling the climate emergency.

Chief Executive of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust Sarah-Jane Marsh said:

Birmingham Women’s and Children’s has been committed to reducing our carbon output for many years. But the scale of what was needed and the money involved, has made it near impossible.

Anyone who has been to either of our hospitals will have experienced the extreme temperatures. The 60-year-old Women’s Hospital is like a greenhouse in the summer and a freezer in the winter. The Grade II listed Children’s Hospital, with its 125-year-old single glazed windows, faces many of the same challenges.

Now, thanks to this generous £53 million BEIS grant, which complements our future planning and Big Build ambitions, we can make much needed improvements, not only for our women, children, young people and families, but also the environment we all depend on.

Peter Alesbury, Director of Estates at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said:

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is committed to taking urgent steps to tackle climate change and achieve the goals set out in our Sustainability Strategy, including to become Climate Positive by 2030. This funding will help deliver significant carbon savings and take us a step closer to achieving this target.

The scheme will be delivered on behalf of the government by Salix Finance.

Salix Finance chief executive Annie Shepperd OBE said:

This investment is transforming public buildings, driving down their carbon footprint and improving the experience of their users, including school pupils, patients and visitors to hospitals, and all those people using libraries and leisure centres.

Salix staff are proud to be working as the delivery partner for this scheme and seeing the impact it’s having.

Notes to editors

• Projects supported so far by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
• The BEIS delivery body Salix Finance manages the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. More information can be found on the Salix Finance website.
• Regional funding breakdown for this round of Phase 3 is:
• West Midlands: £133.9 million
• East Midlands: £103.9 million
• London: £90.8 million
• North West: £51.8 million
• South West: £29.9 million
• South East: £55.6 million
• East of England: £29.8 million
• North East: £5.8 million
• Yorkshire & the Humber: £42.9 million
• Phase 1 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provided £1 billion in grants as part of the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs 2020 commitment to support the UK’s economic recovery from COVID-19. It aimed to support up to 30,000 jobs in the low carbon and energy efficiency sectors and reduce carbon emissions from the public sector.
• Phase 2 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provided £75 million of grant funding for the financial year 2021/2022. It supported the public sector in taking a ‘whole building’ approach when decarbonising their estates.

• Guidance on how to apply for the next round of applications to the scheme, Phase 3b, will be published in July. Further information about the next round of applications, which is expected to open in September.

• This funding is part of the £6.6 billion the Government is investing this parliament to decarbonise buildings, of which over £2 billion is aimed specifically at lower-income households and saving people money on their energy bills.
• The government is also providing £14m of grant funding in the current financial year through of Phase 3 of the Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund. This will provide funding for public sector organisations to access the skills and expertise needed to plan how to decarbonise heating in their buildings, including enabling organisations to develop applications for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.