More than a million vulnerable children in England are growing up emotionally damaged and with reduced life chances because of billions of pounds of austerity cuts to family support and youth services, according to a cross-party House of Lords inquiry.
The Lords Public Services Committee said the pandemic had accelerated a pre-existing “crisis of child vulnerability”, with too many children in deprived areas taken into care, excluded from school, suffering from poor health, struggling in the job market, or ending up in prison because of the lack of services able to intervene early with at-risk youngsters.
Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “This important report is a stark reminder of the challenges councils face supporting and protecting vulnerable children.
“Funding announced by the Government in the Spending Review to invest in children’s health and wellbeing and parenting support was helpful.
“However, with spiralling demand on children’s social services and future cost pressures in children’s social care set to increase by an estimated £600 million each year until 2024/25, councils still find themselves in the unsustainable position of having to overspend their budgets.
“Councils want to work with government on a child-centred, cross-government pandemic recovery plan that offers the very best future for children and families. This would need to be supported by the right level of funding to enable councils to provide the early intervention and prevention support to stop children reaching crisis point in the first place.”