NEWTON CSM

At present it is difficult to understand how much is spent on what, to achieve what outcomes... Nationally reported data for each local authority reveals that spend on children's services per child varies significantly between authorities, from £292 to £1,254 (based on revenue outturn returns for FY16/17 and the local population aged 0-25). Standardising for similar outcomes, spend per child still varies from £299 to £805... This work, commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) and undertaken by Newton, seeks to shed light on the factors driving variation of spend on children's services, establishing why some authorities spend significantly more than others, whilst achieving similar levels of outcome.