Issue details

Proposed decision:

That the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services:

1.    APPROVE the acceptance of the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG and deployment of the grant funding in accordance with the grant conditions.

2.    APPROVE the development of the required Families First model to comply with anticipated legislation and Families First programme guidance principles.

3.    Delegate the detailed service design and acceptance of future years grants to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education.

Reason for the decision

The decision is required to formalise the acceptance and allocation of the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant, which has already been confirmed by the MHCLG. This funding provides a critical opportunity to implement the Families First transformation model, as outlined below, which aligns with national reform priorities and KCC’s strategic objectives for children’s services. The Government have indicated grant funding will continue for at least the next two years.

Delegating authority to the Corporate Director of Children’s Services will enable timely commencement of transformation activity and ensure effective operational oversight and delivery within the scope of the grant.

Background – Provide brief additional context

Introduction

The national government has launched the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme, initially backed by over £500 million of funding for the 2025/26 financial year, including £253m of new ring-fenced funding from the MHCLG known as the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant. This investment is intended to support local authorities and their partners to design and implement end-to-end system reform focused on providing effective early help, family support and child protection services.

The Families First Partnership programme was developed in response to recommendations from: The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, and The Child Safeguarding Practice

Review Panel’s report on child protection in England.

These reforms bring a significant shift and refocus on how we help, protect and support children and families.

Families First Partnership programme’s objective was to design and implement a new, end-to-end system for children’s social care reform, focusing on four key areas:

·   Strengthening multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.

·   Establishing targeted, multi-disciplinary Family Help services for children and families eligible for, or receiving targeted early help and/or Child in Need services.

·   Introducing expert-led, dedicated Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs), including lead child protection practitioners and an expanded parental support offer.

·   Providing practical and financial support for family networks throughout the reformed system

A successful Families First programme in Kent will deliver:

·   A fully integrated, family-centred system of support

·   Strong multi-agency collaboration and shared accountability

·   Families receiving and accessing the right help at the right time from trusted practitioners who understand their story, coordinating support and providing consistent presence throughout their journey

·   Financial sustainability, ensuring that resources are used efficiently to deliver long-term value and improved outcomes.

Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant 25/26

The grant is ring-fenced and we would expect that the grant money will be spent across the same strands of activity as set out by the MHCLG:

·   Transformation activity

·   Workforce

·   Service delivery

·   Partner agency funding

The Government’s commitment to the Families First model has been reconfirmed by the Chancellor’s statement to Parliament, which included£555 million over the next 2 years from the Transformation Fund for 2026-27 and 2027-28 for children’s social care reform. £523 million provided for the Families First Programme in 2025-26 will continue in each year of the Spending Review period (£523m each year from 2026-27 – 2028-29). There is no indication of how this grant will be split between Local Authorities.

Final decision-making on the acceptance and deployment plans for the funding will be taken once the full details are available from the DfE.

Options (other options considered but discarded)

The MHCLG have already confirmed the Council’s Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant allocation for 2025/2026. The alternative option is to refuse this funding. The implementation of the new Families First Model is currently being debated in Parliament, through the Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and is expected to become a legal requirement. Therefore, refusing this funding would mean any costs associated with implementation of this new model would have to be met solely by the Council’s existing budget.

Considering the Council’s current financial pressures, the utilisation of this grant presents a timely and appropriate opportunity to support service transformation and improve outcomes for children and families.

How the proposed decision supports the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

The changes to how Children Services are delivered will be mandated through the Children Wellbeing and Schools bill which is making its way through Parliament and every Local Authority is expected to implement these reforms. Formally accepting the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant and delegating authority to the Director for Children Services to spend the grant is in line with Priority 4: New models of care and support in the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026.

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future 2022 -2026: Securing Kents Future - Budget Recovery Strategy.pdf

The changes to how Children Services are delivered will be mandated through the Children Wellbeing and Schools bill which it’s making its way through Parliament. The bill will specify various expectations for reform and will mandate every Local Authority to reform children services. By declining the acceptance of the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant for 2025-26 and in future years, KCC will have to identify its own financial resources to support the transformation activity creating more financial pressures for the Council.