Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown calls on the Government to give children’s social services the information and finances they need to deal with the growth in the number of children being taken into care as a result of domestic violence.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
The Public Accounts Committee held an inquiry into children’s social services yesterday. Does my hon. Friend agree that domestic violence is one of the key causes of the growth in the number of children being taken into care in local authorities? Will the Department work closely with the Department for Education to ensure that children’s social services have the information and finances that they need to deal with that growing problem?
Edward Argar
I can offer my hon. Friend the reassurance that we are working extremely closely with colleagues across Government to do that. We often see that some of the young people who end up in the criminal justice system have come from homes or families where they have witnessed domestic abuse. It is incumbent on us all to do all we can to tackle that.