Industry News | Sep 21, 2026 | 1 Comment |
Inquiry into Children’s Social Care
The House of Lords Public Services Committee has launched an inquiry into children’s social care
This is the system of support that children, young people and their families receive from their local authorities. When functioning properly, the system should address any problems early, intervene decisively when there is likelihood of harm, and provide care for those who need it.
However, things don’t always turn out as we might hope, and the inquiry will be looking into the issues that can have a negative impact.
Many factors to examine
The Inquiry will examine a wide range of issues. These include system demand, key drivers for the increase in local authority spending, potential profiteering by private firms who provide services, shortages in foster carers, the effectiveness of residential care placements and the impact of unregistered illegal children’s homes. The Inquiry will also look at how the system is regulated and outcomes for care-experienced children.
Closing date for evidence
The Committee has invited written evidence to be submitted by 23.59 Monday 26 October 2026 and expects to report on its findings in the next few months.
Read the full call for evidence and find out how to make a submission Call for evidence – Committees – UK Parliament (link to Parliament website will open in a new browser tab or window).
Commenting on the inquiry, Lord Bradley, Chair of the Public Services Committee said:
“The purpose of the Children’s social care system is to support families, children and young people where they need extra help. This support should ultimately allow these children and young people to thrive and reach their full potential in life so they can in turn create stable environments of their own.
“Our inquiry will examine several factors which affect the way in which the system operates. There are multiple participants in ensuring the system works effectively including local authorities, regulators, government officials and departments which we need to hear from so that we can examine in detail the issues highlighted in our call for evidence. In addition, we want to hear from stakeholder organisations and people with lived experience of the system.
“The goal of this inquiry is to explore obstacles, outcomes for care-experienced children, and consider possible solutions as well as highlighting any good practice and how that can be shared to improve the system so that it will benefit the children and young people it is meant to serve. We look forward to receiving responses.”
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What a lough it’s all about social care wow
Social care this social care that Foster carers then what about grandparents aunts uncles
Who keep children out of care what help do they get
Ot a lot in fact you afto fight for help and still get nowhere , we have children with needs we even went private to help the strain off the council social services they flatly refused the out come and still didn’t help .
We finished home schooling one because it was that bad yet again no help from social services
We had meetings after meetings at home school and other place’s even to our own doctor
They refused to help because we afto have information from cascas or one higher we went through hell and still go nowhere we went above and beyond for help was like this for years
So what about all these that’s no in the system what about there lives don’t they matter like these that’s in care and fostered out which saved the council social services thousands of pounds
And orderly any help from anyone .
So how many children or not in the system out there and struggling do we afto still suffer in silence just to make sisitics look better and still get nowhere in the process just give a throught
All those children and adults that never get the proper help they need it’s like sitting on a bus waiting for it come but never dose ,
Just because there related to you your still looking after them still go through the same as the rest of them, But no help , I’m totally disgusted in the way grandparents aunt uncle s or treated
Haven’t we got any rights for help or just them in the system, by the way we waited from 11 year old to 18 before we had an appointment sent to us .
By this time he was in college and to old for help
We felt totally disgusted in the way we was treated
Yet it still going on out there ,