Children's social care: reform statement · first published 15 December 2023
This December 2023 statement sets out the government's programme to transform children's social care in England. It announces five linked publications: a national kinship care strategy (backed by £20m), a new national framework for children's social care, updated statutory guidance on safeguarding children ('Working Together to Safeguard Children'), a data strategy, and £8.5m of extra fostering investment (bringing the fostering total to £36m). The statement is addressed to local authorities, safeguarding partners, and practitioners — not to commercial suppliers. For small businesses, the relevance is indirect: the investment signals future commissioning activity around kinship support, fostering recruitment, data and digital services, and workforce development in children's social care, but no procurement rules or supplier requirements are set out here.
WHO THIS APPLIES TO
THE ENKII VIEW
This is a policy direction document, not a procurement policy note, so it creates no new scoring criteria, weightings, or supplier obligations. However, the signal is clear: significant public investment (£200m overall, £36m in fostering, £20m in kinship care) will flow into children's social care commissioning over the next few years. SMEs with capabilities in social care data and digital, fostering recruitment, kinship family support services, or social work workforce development should position themselves now — watch local authority procurement pipelines closely as this framework embeds. The data strategy's explicit 2023–2025 timetable and the spring 2024 dashboard commitment are the most time-bound hooks for tech and data suppliers.
1. Monitor local authority and Department for Education procurement notices related to the children's social care data strategy and 'data and digital solutions fund' — active commissioning is expected between 2023 and 2025.
SMEs providing data, digital, or technology services to local authorities — The document commits to 'using our data and digital solutions fund to continue testing innovative and sensitive practice' and improving data services between 2023 and 2025, signalling funded procurement activity in this window.
2. Identify which local authorities are included in the fostering recruitment and retention roll-out (targeting over 60% of all English local authorities) and proactively engage their commissioning teams.
SMEs providing fostering recruitment, retention, or support services — The document confirms £36m total fostering investment — 'the largest ever investment in fostering in England' — with explicit roll-out to over 60% of local authorities, making this a live and substantial commissioning opportunity.
3. Track the £20m kinship care programme and the financial allowance pathfinder procurement in up to 8 local authorities — approach those authorities' children's services commissioners to understand how they plan to deliver new support offers.
SMEs providing kinship carer support, training, or family services — The strategy requires 'all local authorities to review their existing support offers for kinship carers', backed by £20m — local authorities will need to commission or expand services to comply.
4. Review the updated 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' statutory guidance (replacing the 2018 version) to understand the new child protection standards practitioners must embed — align any training or CPD (Continuing Professional Development) products to these new standards.
SMEs providing social work workforce development or training — Local authorities and safeguarding partners are required to 'embed new child protection standards for practitioners' from December 2023, creating demand for workforce training and development services aligned to the updated guidance.
Every rule below quotes the official document verbatim.
The reform programme is backed by £200 million of total investment. (Children's social care reform programme, England, from 2023)
“Our strategy, backed by £200 million investment, responded to 3 reviews that provided a vision of how to do things differently”
The national kinship care strategy 'Championing Kinship Care' is backed by £20 million investment. (Kinship care programme, England, from December 2023)
“Championing Kinship Care outlines the practical and financial support we will provide kinship families, and is backed by £20 million investment.”
A financial allowance pathfinder will run in up to 8 local authorities to test greater financial stability for children in kinship care. (Up to 8 selected local authorities, England)
“a financial allowance pathfinder in up to 8 local authorities to provide more financial stability for children growing up in kinship care”
Fostering reform investment is increased by up to £8.5 million, bringing the total fostering investment to £36 million — described as the largest ever investment in fostering in England. (Fostering reforms, England, from December 2023)
“we will increase our budget to deliver fostering reforms by up to £8.5 million. This takes the total investment for our fostering reforms to £36 million. This is the largest ever investment in fostering in England”
The fostering investment will support roll-out of recruitment and retention programmes to over 60% of all local authorities in England. (Fostering recruitment and retention programmes, England)
“will support us to roll out recruitment and retention programmes to over 60% of all local authorities in England”
A children's social care data dashboard will be published in spring 2024, bringing data together to track outcomes against the national framework. (Central government / Department for Education, spring 2024)
“We will publish a children's social care dashboard in spring 2024. This will bring data together in one place to understand progress towards the outcomes set out in the national framework.”
Data and digital improvements, including new research, evaluation, and testing of innovative solutions, will run between 2023 and 2025. (Children's social care data programme, England, 2023–2025)
“Between 2023 and 2025 we will improve information sharing through: new research and evaluation; making improvements to existing data services; using our data and digital solutions fund to continue testing innovative and sensitive practice in this area”
Updated statutory guidance 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' replaces the 2018 version and takes effect from December 2023. (Local authorities and safeguarding partners, England, from 15 December 2023)
“Our statutory guidance, Working together to safeguard children, has been updated and replaces the 2018 version. Starting today, we want: local authorities and safeguarding partners, to embed new child protection standards for practitioners”
This briefing is enkii's interpretation of the official document — the official text always governs.
Source document © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0 via the GOV.UK Content API. enkii tracks every Procurement Policy Note and briefs changes the day they land — see all briefings.