Local government will work with Whitehall to commission research to understand the drivers of increasing demand and costs in children's services, The MJ understands. Growing pressures face children's services, with an estimated £2bn funding gap.

Last week council representa-tives, including the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Association of Directors of Children's Services, met Department for Education officials to discuss the issues facing the sector. A number of prominent local authorities have been rated inadequate by Ofsted, including Manchester City Council – which is on notice for a further inspection – and Croydon LBC, which will hold an extraordinary meeting of the council next week to discuss its own damning Ofsted report.