Leading charities say funding for children’s services has fallen by almost a third
0Funding for children’s services fell by 29% per child in England between 2010/11 and 2017/18, according to an analysis by Action for Children, Barnardo’s, the NSPCC, The Children’s Society, and the National Children’s Bureau.
The report “Children and young people’s services: Funding and Spending 2010/11 to 2017/18” found by looking at official figures that funding for local authority children and young people’s services fell by £3bn over the period, leaving a £1.4bn funding gap in 2017/18, which it says will rise to £3bn by 2025.
The areas hardest hit include the North East, with a fall of 34%, and London with a reduction of 33%.
The report says that councils have been forced to prioritise their statutory child protection work, reducing spending on non-statutory services which it says step in early and prevent problems reaching a crisis point.
It calls for more resources to be allocated in the Spending Review: “Without additional investment, local authorities will continue to struggle to respond to the needs of children in their communities.”
Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People and Board, said: “Children’s social care is facing a country-wide cash crisis, with nine in 10 councils spending more than they planned to last year.
“While the report notes that these cuts have affected different areas in different ways, it is clear that all councils are now finding their budgets under enormous pressure as a result of the ongoing children’s care cash crisis.”
The LGA is calling for the upcoming Spending Review to put in place a long-term strategy to deal with the growing demand for the sector.
