Plymouth Lib Dem councillor champions support for vulnerable children at meeting of City Council

At last week’s full City Council meeting [2 June], Plymouth Liberal Democrat councillor Dylan Tippetts (pictured) raised Labour’s cuts to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund with the cabinet member for children’s social services. 

During the part of the meeting set aside for councillors’ questions, Cllr Tippetts asked: "As we both know, we’re both passionate about our looked after children in this city and the fantastic contribution that they have to make to life here. And we are both also really passionate about them finding their ‘forever homes,’ so I am sure she can imagine that I was really disappointed when back in April the Government announced a 40% cut to the amount available for each child from the annual £50 million Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund. I was wondering whether she could update us on any conversations that she has had with government ministers expressing Plymouth’s disappointment in this, and if she is able to update on any movement on this as well.”

The cabinet member responded by confirming that she knew about the cuts and has already asked about it, and that she will share the response she gets with Cllr Tippetts when it is received. 

After the meeting, Cllr Tippetts said: "I’m so proud to be a corporate parent. It’s a responsibility I take very seriously. I look forward to seeing the reply from the minister and I hope it contains a U-turn on this 40% cut."

The fund was set up to provide therapeutic support for traumatised children and young adults. According to Adoption UK, around four in every five adopted children have suffered abuse, neglect, or violence before adoption. They spend an average of 15 months in care, often moving through several foster families, losing everything that is familiar to them along the way. Despite this, the Government has announced a 40% cut in the amount that will be available per child from the fund. 

Nationally, the Lib Dem education, schools and families spokesperson, Munira Wilson MP, has been running a dogged campaign to protect funding for the fund, securing the continuation of the £50 million fund, despite the per-child cuts subsequently announced and more recently highlighting that the fund could be extended by using the advertising, consultancy and marketing budget for the Department of Education, that cost the taxpayer £46.5 million in the last year.