MPs warn privatisation plans for social care could take away vulnerable children’s rights

Government plans to boost innovation in children’s social care risk privatising services and taking away vulnerable children’s rights, MPs have warned.

Senior Tory and Labour MPs have raised fears about the so-called “power to innovate” clauses in the Children and Social Work Bill, which have already been voted down in the House of Lords.

During the Bill’s second reading in the Commons, Education minister Nick Gibb said similar but substantially revised clauses were due to be put forward as the Bill made its way through the Commons, which he said would empower local authorities to find better ways of delivering services.

But Tory former education minister Tim Loughton and shadow education secretary Angela Rayner both fired warnings about these clauses being introduced.

Mr Loughton (pictured) told Mr Gibb: “One-hundred-and-fifty organisations, including Coram, the NSPCC, the British Association of Social Workers and 90% of all social workers said they didn’t want it, they were opposed to it.

“Will he now confirm that he will not try to reintroduce those clauses in the Bill in this House?”

Mr Loughton said the clauses could see independent reviewing officers abolished by councils, who the East Worthing and Shoreham MP said “absolutely can be the only voice independently standing up for vulnerable looked-after children in local authorities”.

He added: “If they go under these proposals, how is that not taking away the rights of children, vulnerable children in particular?”

Ms Rayner, meanwhile, pointed to a new report for the Department for Education released last week, which also considered options for outsourcing and developing markets in children’s social services.

“This is privatisation by another name, and quite simply it would not just be the wrong solution, but not a solution at all,” she said.

“Once already, the Government plans for the outsourcing and privatisation of our children’s services, dressed up as innovation, were defeated.

“Nobody in the profession believes that privatisation is the answer to the immense challenges they are currently facing, nor can it alleviate the growing demand for children’s services.”

However, Mr Gibb said enabling councils to innovate was a key recommendation from a review of child protection by Professor Eileen Munro, and that the amendments due to be tabled by the Government would be “reviewed and substantially revised” from those in the Lords.

He added: “The power was never intended to be used to alter or remove children’s fundamental rights or entitlements.

“Its sole purpose is to allow local authorities to trial better and more practical alternatives to the sometimes very specific and overly prescriptive requirements set out in legislation, in order to provide better outcomes for children.

“The new amendments will put this beyond doubt.”

Among the changes to the clauses would be removing any element of profit, Mr Gibb said, as well as ensuring only local authorities could use it.

Other changes in the Bill include establishing a new regulator for social care, as well as laying out new parenting principles for councils to follow in relation to looked-after children.

Mr Loughton urged the Government to reflect further on whether to reintroduce the clauses as he said ministers should not repeat what was “clearly a mistake”.

“I’m afraid those clauses were not remotely welcome by the vast majority of people who are involved in the whole field of child protection,” he said.

Mr Loughton said “every child needs the protection of the law” and that services must not become a “postcode lottery”.

He said: “This would be the first time in the history of children’s welfare that legislation made for all vulnerable children and young people could be disapplied in a particular area.

“This is a very radical proposal that should at least have warranted a green paper and a white paper and proper consultation but there was absolutely none.”

Mr Loughton said he had “severe reservations” about the Government’s innovation plans.

Conservative MP Maria Miller, chairwoman of the women and equalities select committee, backed proposals to give councils the power to innovate.

“If we are to find better ways to care for the vulnerable children that we all feel so deeply about we need to be, I think, open to new ideas” she said.

“It’s right that this tightly regulated area is as protected as it is, but I cannot believe that it would not benefit from looking at new ways of working.”

Labour MP Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) accused the Home Office of reneging on promises to give a home to many of the child refugees in Calais by issuing guidance seriously restricting who can be brought to Britain under the Dubs Amendment.

Eligibility criteria states that a child must be either 12 or under, at high risk of sexual exploitation, be 15 or under and either of Syrian or Sudanese nationality, or be under 18 and a sibling of someone fitting this criteria.

Ms Creasy said she will bring forward an amendment to the bill to clarify that Britain will always put “the best interests of the child first”.

She said: “It cannot be in the best interests of a child to put nationality before need.”

Education minister Edward Timpson said the Government wanted to “revisit” its proposed innovation powers “because of the important role they stand to play in improving the quality of children’s social care”.

He said: “It will give councils the ability to test new ways of working designed to improve outcomes for children in a safe and controlled environment where the impact of removing a specific requirement can be measured and evaluated carefully.”

Mr Timpson said the concerns raised about the powers would be listened to and that additional safeguards had been brought forward.

He said: “But I do want to be clear: We don’t want to privatise protection services for children. We won’t privatise child protection services.

“There are already clear legislative restrictions on the outsourcing of children social care functions.”

The Children and Social Work Bill received an unopposed second reading and will now progress to its committee stage.

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