The last significant act of Alan Johnson as secretary of state for education was to publish – ahead of schedule – Care matters: Time for change, the White Paper which sets out the Government's vision and proposals for children in care. It was also the last White Paper published by the Government before the change in prime minister. However, with the establishment of the new Department of Children, Schools and Families, led by Ed Balls, one of Gordon Brown's closest allies, there will be no slowing down in the drive to improve provision for children in care. And confirmation that Beverley Hughes will not only retain responsibility for this group but will attend Cabinet meetings when social policies are discussed, will also ensure the vision is delivered on the ground. The White Paper focuses on the following seven areas: l corporate parenting – expecting every local authority to develop a pledge for children in care and to establish a Children in Care Council to ensue children's voices are heard by senior managers l family and parenting support – helping children at home with their families or enabling them to live with their wider family or friends l care placements – improving choice and quality of placements, with a strong focus on stability and enforcement of minimum standards for residential placements l education – ensuring children in care receive a first-class education tailored to their needs, with financial support for extended activities l health and wellbeing – securing both through improved partnership working, clarifying responsibilities between partners and enhancing children and young people's access to leisure activities l transition to adulthood – ensuring young people have personal adviser support up to 25, and that they can remain in care until they are 18 and with foster carers until 21 l the role of the practitioner – remodelling the workforce with a focus on providing a child with a seamless, consistent service, responsive to their needs The White Paper has a final section on next steps which sets out in some detail the plans for: l strengthening the legislative and regulatory framework l establishing a national partnership with the voluntary and statutory sectors to ensure outcomes are delivered l developing a detailed implementation guide l introducing a change fund to support implementation of the White Paper l a new approach to working with the private sector to gather support for children in care, including access to apprenticeship programmes and other routes into employment. An additional £300m will be provided over the next three years to support the proposals. The reaction from the Government and the voluntary sector was positive. And the LGA welcomed the White Paper as an important recognition of the need to improve the provision for children in care. Speaking at the launch, John Coughlan, joint president of the the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said: ‘We congratulate the Government both for its determination to publish the White Paper ahead of schedule and to continuing to listen to stakeholders' views. The proposals will assist the collective responsibility of key partners to improve outcomes.' And Allan Bowman, chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence, welcomed the challenging political initiative of raising the national profile of the lives of children in care. ‘Young people from care have told us they want stability, to be listened to, taken seriously, involved fully in decisions about their lives, and helped to become independent adults. High-level support for young people during their transition to adulthood is vital to build the necessary resilience, self-esteem and empowerment to progress with confidence.' w Chris Waterman is executive director at the Association of Directors of Children's Services
