The government has announced the members of the Children’s Social Care National Implementation Board as part of its initial response to the recommendations to the independent review, the report into the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and the CMA report into the children’s social care market.

The independent review of children’s social care, chaired by Josh MacAlister, said the system is currently increasingly skewed to crisis intervention, with outcomes for children that continue to be unacceptably poor and costs that continue to rise. It urged radical reform with a number of recommendations.

The Child Protection in England report by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel into the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes  and Star Hobson said there is a need for sharper specialist child protection skills and expertise, especially in relation to complex risk assessment and decision making, and urged the establishment of Multi-Agency Child protection Units.

Meanwhile, former children’s minister Will Quince asked the DfE to conduct thorough research into the children’s homes workforce, engaging with the sector and experts to improve oversight of the market, following the publication of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Children’s Social Care report.

The role of the Children’s Social Care National Implementation Board is to advise ministers on the implementation of reform across children’s social care.

The board is chaired by Brendan Clarke-Smith, Minister for Children and Families. Other members of the board include:

• Amanda Spielman - Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Ofsted
• Sir Anthony Finkelstein CBE, FREng - President of City, University of London. Computer Scientist.
• Isabelle Trowler - Chief Social Worker for Children and Families for England
• Jill Colbert OBE - Chief Executive of Together for Children and Director for Children’s Services in Sunderland
• Dame Rachel De Souza DBE - England’s Children’s Commissioner
• Steve Crocker OBE - President of the Association for Directors of Children’s Services
• Tom Riordan CBE - Chief Executive of Leeds City Council

Three board members with direct experience of the care system will be appointed ahead of the first full board meeting.