Councils call for more money for children’s services

It’s an astonishing statistic . A child was referred to children’s services in England and Wales every 49 seconds last year. The Local Government Association is warning that councils need more resources to help social workers keep children safe, claiming services  face a £2bn funding gap by 2020.

The Department for Education said it was investing £200m in new solutions, but those using children’s services say what’s needed is more investment in early intervention to prevent families falling into crisis.