Market approach feared by trust

The Department for Education and Skills has sent a letter to
directors of social services and council and primary care trust
chief executives asking them to assess the market for children’s
services and what the barriers are to increasing the range of
providers.

However, Hammersmith and Fulham’s children’s trust director Andrew
Christie said that although a more market-oriented children’s
sector could reduce costs, it could also cause problems for
clients.

He said there were parallels with the opening up of the residential
home sector, when an oversupply of independent providers “caused
pain and grief” for users when homes closed. “The same thing could
happen for young people’s services,” Christie added.