Alma Economics was commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) to develop a nationwide framework for sufficiency statements. Sufficiency statements are a key tool used by councils to deliver necessary children’s social care services.

Our team engaged with representatives from several councils across England through interviews and workshops to explore best practice and challenges in the production of sufficiency statements and to gather key insights on the development of a nationwide framework. We then combined existing data sources and data collected through a survey with councils to create a nationwide database on children’s placements. Finally, we developed a bespoke IT solution allowing us to create a detailed, individualised draft sufficiency statement for each council incorporating both national and council-level data.

Our framework for consistent monitoring of key trends across councils leads to an improved understanding of the breadth of the sector and provides actionable recommendations for future development.

➥ Download our Sufficiency Statement template here.