Child cruelty offences double in England, says NSPCC

More than 655,000 assessments were completed by children's social care in 2022 to determine whether a child required support, the NSPCC said

Cases of adults neglecting, mistreating or assaulting children in England have doubled in five years, police figures show.

Data shows 29,405 cruelty offences were recorded from April 2022 to March 2023, compared to 14,263 during the same period in 2017-18.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said the cases also rose year on year.

The government said it was working on ambitious and wide-ranging reforms.

The rising cases of child cruelty and neglect were revealed by Freedom of Information requests from the NSPCC to 35 police forces across England.

The charity said the coronavirus pandemic and cost-of-living crisis had put struggling families under "increased strain".

This year has seen a number of court cases following the deaths of babies and children, including 15-month-old Jacob Lennon, 10-month-old Jacob Crouch, five-month-old Ava Mae Collard, 10-month-old Finley Boden and nine-year-old Alfie Steele, who all died between 2019 and 2021.

In 2022-23, more than 655,000 child-in-need assessments were completed by children's social care to determine whether a child required support from a service, the NSPCC said.

It has called on the government to accelerate plans to reform the child protection system through greater investment amid "spiralling costs and rising demand" on services.

In 2019, 15-month-old Jacob Lennon was shaken and beaten to death by his mother's partner

Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said the figures were a "stark wake-up call that our current system is struggling to prevent the horrifying abuse and neglect happening to some of the youngest and most vulnerable in our society".

He added: "The government has pledged to reform the child protection system to provide earlier support for babies, children and young people and stop families' problems escalating to crisis point. The figures underline why it is urgent that these changes are delivered at pace alongside significant investment.

"We cannot afford for this to be delayed any longer as there is a real danger we will continue to see these offences spiral upwards if significant change doesn't happen."

A government spokesperson said that any instance of child cruelty was abhorrent, and perpetrators would face the full force of the law.

"To transform the support for the most vulnerable children and families, we are working at pace to deliver ambitious and wide-ranging reforms, including introducing new, dedicated multi-agency child protection teams and creating a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available to more children," they said.

"Spend on children's social care is now over £10bn a year and rising, and we have invested £200m to implement our reforms and help families overcome challenges at the earliest stage and keep children safe from significant harm."