Children’s minister tells agencies to consider benefits of private providers

Children’s agencies face a key challenge on whether to bring more voluntary and private sector organisations into the delivery of services, children’s minister Beverley Hughes told the conference.

She said public services needed to carefully weigh up the risks of involving new providers against the potential benefits, and that professionals would have to consider what sort of market would best suit local needs.

“What this is about is trying to provide the best services in the best possible way,” the minister said.

“Unfortunately, we can’t hand on heart say that public sector services have delivered the best for everybody.”

In response to a comment from a delegate that competition in the running of provision would lead to more fragmentation of children services, Hughes said she was “depressed” if people held this view.