Following the government’s commitment in the 2019 manifesto to review children’s social care (CSC), the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care was established in 2021 to understand how money should be best spent to deliver improved outcomes for children and families. Our team was commissioned to conduct the technical analysis supporting the policy recommendations proposed by the Review team.

Children’s social care services are expensive, and they become more costly the more severe the needs of children become. Our team estimated that in 2019/20, approximately £12 billion were spent on children’s social care services, including local authority expenditure on children in care, legal costs of bringing a child into the system, and family support services, among others.

Moreover, the outcomes of children who have been in contact with the social care system tend to be significantly worse than the wider population. Previous studies highlighted the increased incidence of adverse outcomes such as unemployment, loss of earnings, anxiety, and depression, especially among children and young people who experienced care, and their persistence over their lifetime. Combining the different sources of evidence from the academic and grey literature, we estimated that the lifetime social cost of a child who experienced care in childhood is approximately £1.2 million.

Preventing the escalation of needs can lead to a better life for children and their families and result in significant savings to the public purse and society. Indeed, while children in care represent only 20% of children who need a social worker, they make up nearly 40% of the total cost of adverse outcomes. In this context, the Review team developed a list of policy recommendations that covered many aspects of the CSC to support families of children at the edge of care, reduce the number of children currently in care, and support care leavers transitioning from care to independent living.

Our team developed comprehensive models estimating the impact of the recommendations developed by the Review team on public finances and costs and benefits to society, following HM Treasury Green Book guidance. Each model was developed following a comprehensive review of the evidence, including official statistics, academic papers and grey literature, as well as closely engaging with policy teams.

Our analysis shows that the Review’s policy recommendations can improve outcomes for children and their families and lead to significant savings on public spending by preventing the escalation of needs.

The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care final report can be found here.

The government’s response can be found here.

Selected press coverage and responses to the review:

BBC, The Guardian, Sky, Independent, iTv, Children’s Commissioner, Local Government Association, Barnardo’s, The Fostering Network, Coram, Early Intervention Foundation,

Independent review of children's social care