Funding to improve social work confirmed for 2010/11

The £23 million local social work improvement fund will be available to local authority children’s services in 2010-11, the new Department for Education has confirmed in a written parliamentary statement.

The funding to support the first year of a new independent College for Social Work was also confirmed by Tim Loughton, the parliamentary under secretary of state for education, who added that pilots of social work practices will also continue.

This funding has been protected in 2010-11 and funding plans for future years would be confirmed as part of the forthcoming comprehensive spending review, Loughton added.

The funding commitment emerged in a document outlining the remit for a major review of child protection practices, to be led by Professor Eileen Munro of the London School of Economics. Professor Munro has been asked to set out the obstacles preventing improvements to child protection work and the steps required to bring about better practice.