Children to be housed closer to family in overhaul of England’s social care system

Changes in children's social care, including earlier help for families, fall short of full reset' called for by adviser

Ministers are to pledge that children taken into care in England will be placed close to their family and friends rather than being housed hundreds of miles away, under what is described as an ambitious overhaul of the struggling social services system.

The commitment on care placements is one of a series of proposals aimed at reforming what the government has acknowledged is a children's social care system too often failing to meet the needs of vulnerable families and children.