Local authority children’s services have been reduced to crisis-driven firefighting as a result of years of under investment.
This has left them ill-prepared to cope with the torrent of extra challenges presented by the coronavirus lockdown, a report by the UK’s largest children’s charities has warned.
New analysis by The Children’s Society, Barnardo’s, Action for Children, NSPCC and the National Children’s Bureau reveals the true impact of a toxic cocktail of cuts and a soaring demand for help.
This report shows that over the last decade local authority budgets have been so squeezed that councils can only afford to get involved when children have reached crisis point and need costly interventions, like being taken into care. Key findings of the report are shown in the infographic below.
