Funding halved on services for vulnerable children in England

Children's charities warned the funding cuts would result in more money needing to be spent in the future

Council spending on early support for vulnerable children has almost halved in the past decade, new analysis shows.

Authorities in England spent the equivalent of £3.6bn on early intervention services in 2010, falling 48% to £1.8bn in 2020, after inflation.

The most deprived areas saw spending cut by an average of 59% and the least deprived by 38%.

Sunderland (83%), Walsall (81%), Stoke-on-Trent and Herefordshire (both 77%) saw the biggest cuts.

Researchers Pro Bono Economics found overall annual spending on children's services fell by £325m.

The money spent on early intervention programmes is used to help families before problems escalate, providing support for substance misuse, help with babies, respite care, and young offender and crime prevention services.

Mark Russell, chief executive at The Children's Society, said: "We have heard of families being refused support because their problems were not 'bad enough' or their children were not going missing from home often enough."

The Children's Services Funding Alliance said as a result councils were having to spend more on intervention when children got older.

'Moral disgrace'

The group - made up of Action for Children, Barnardo's, The Children's Society, NSPCC and the National Children's Bureau - said budget pressures faced by councils had been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

They have asked the government to invest more money in early intervention services in the autumn spending review.

Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, called it a "moral disgrace", adding, "An approach centred on firefighting crises is not a strategy that protects children."

The Local Government Association also called for more funding and said £1.7bn has been lost from the Early Intervention Grant since 2010.

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In response, a government spokeswoman said: "Keeping the most vulnerable children safe and well looked after is at the heart of our work, and this government is already investing millions in the frontline charities directly supporting them."

"Local authorities will receive an additional £1.55bn of un-ringfenced grant funding this year, and we have made an extra £4.6bn available in response to changing pressures including for children's services.

"Our independent review of children's social care, a manifesto commitment, is looking at how to reform the system to improve existing support for the most vulnerable."

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