They say the new approach, which is part of adjustments to the process of setting authorities\u2019 overall annual core funding, risks \u201cdramatically underestimating levels of need\u201d across the country.<\/p>\n
The Government is consulting on plans to alter the way the distribution of core council funding is set from 2026\/27.<\/p>\n
A key element of this is the use of a new formula which determines funding levels for individual councils\u2019 children\u2019s services using various measures, with the aim of distributing funding based on relative needs.<\/p>\n
The children\u2019s services formula alone would cover about a quarter of the overall \u00a330 billion that would be distributed using the new overall approach.<\/p>\n
Modelling of the impact of the changes by London Councils, which represents 32 boroughs and the City of London, found \u00a31.5 billion would be redistributed away from the capital\u2019s boroughs over three years if the children\u2019s services formula was the only change.<\/p>\n
The analysis showed that if all planned financial protections and overall changes to formulae, some of which benefit London authorities, come into effect, councils in the capital would lose \u00a3700 million over the period.<\/p>\n
Research by the National Children\u2019s Bureau found the new \u201cunique\u201d formula for children\u2019s services \u201chas questionable overall robustness and accuracy\u201d because of a lack of testing and metrics that \u201care not correlated with need\u201d.<\/p>\n
The study concluded that the proposed data sources to be used do not include housing costs, which are particularly high in London, resulting in funding allocations being skewed.<\/p>\n
It also said that the proposed measure of child health is \u201csubjective\u201d and a more \u201cobjective\u201d measure, such as figures on special educational needs and disability, would capture a broader range of need.<\/p>\n
The proposed metrics relating to housing occupation and parents\u2019 level of education were also identified as problematic measures.<\/p>\n
The new formula is also said to assume London\u2019s demand for children\u2019s services has decreased by nearly 40%, despite a collective overspend of budgets by more than \u00a3150 million in each of the previous two years.<\/p>\n
London boroughs claimed the children\u2019s formula has been developed \u201cbehind closed doors\u201d with insufficient scrutiny or testing.<\/p>\n
Claire Holland, the newly elected chairwoman of London Councils and Labour leader of Lambeth Council, said: \u201cWe welcome the Government\u2019s intention to reform council funding since this is long overdue, and it is critical that funding is distributed fairly and efficiently on the basis of need.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, it\u2019s clear there are serious issues with the proposed children\u2019s services formula, which risks dramatically underestimating levels of need in London and other parts of the country. This would have a devastating impact on our ability to deliver vital local services, particularly for our most vulnerable children and young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cA more accurate approach to assessing local levels of need is in everyone\u2019s interests. It will help create a funding system that is robust, provides councils with the resources they need and, following 14 years of structural underfunding, restores long-term financial stability to boroughs and the wider local government sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe consultation is an essential opportunity to re-examine the formula, and we are keen to work with the Government to develop a model that is accurate and robust.\u201d<\/p>\n
James Shutkever, social care programme lead at the National Children\u2019s Bureau, added: \u201cAt a time of increased pressure on children\u2019s services departments across the country the relative needs formula is a crucial tool for fair distribution of funding to ensure that children, young people and their families get the support that they need and deserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, our research raises significant concerns about the robustness of the Government\u2019s proposed methodology for the funding formula.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge the Government to consider the recommendations set out in the report and refine its proposals. This will help to ensure that the formula lives up to its name and is based on need.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Government has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They say the new approach, which is part of adjustments to the process of setting authorities\u2019 overall annual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-307804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114950496882405710","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}