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The well-worn path

This report, in partnership with Action for Children, Barnados, National Children's Bureau and NSPCC, shows that investment in early support services for children has fallen over the last ten years. Councils have struggled with the impact of funding cuts, with many of the poorest areas hardest hit.

Author:

The Children's Society

Number of pages:

23 pages

Date published:

Facts about children's services funding

  • Local authorities across England increased their spending on children’s services by £800 million for 2021-22, a substantial 8% surge from the previous year.
  • 81% of the recent increase was funnelled into crisis intervention services, a rise from the 67% seen a decade ago. Of this additional spending £4 in every £5 went on late intervention services.
  • In the past 12 years the number of children in residential care has increased by 79% and spending has risen by 61%.
  • Spiralling number of children in residential care is driving a rise in late intervention spending.
  • Early intervention services are in decline, witnessing a 46% drop in the last 12 years.

facts-about-children's-services-funding

81%

of the recent spending increase was funnelled into crisis intervention services.

46%

decrease in early intervention services over the last 12 years.

Key findings about children's services funding

Providing appropriate care, support, and opportunities to children and young people so that they get the best possible start in life, whatever their circumstances, is essential. Across the country, multiple agencies, charities, layers of government and public services are involved in trying to achieve this.

Spending on children's services

Spending on children's services has gone up and down over the past 13 years. Since 2016, we've seen a steady increase in spending by local councils, and in 2021-22 that spending rose by an unprecedented £800 million on the previous year.

The urgent need for early intervention

Spending on early intervention, such as family help services, has fallen by 46%, while the total expenditure on late interventions, including children in care, has risen by almost 47%. In 2021-22, more than £4 in every £5 of the additional £800 million went into late intervention services.

The impact of cuts

A young teenager with long brown hair is talking to an adult with brown hair tied into a ponytail. They are both sitting on a bed.

The impact of cuts

Over the last 12 years, there has been a 25% increase in the total number of children in care. Residential care is by far the most cost-intensive care intervention and can often result in the worst outcomes for children, especially if opportunities to intervene were missed earlier.

A failing system

With almost universal acceptance that the current system is failing, the Department for Education has outlined plans for wide-ranging and radical transformation of children’s services. At the heart of the proposed reform is recognising that the system must be rebalanced away from cost-intensive late intervention services and towards earlier support for families and children.

The need for investment

The need for investment

Investment is needed to give local authorities the financial breathing space required to deliver transformation. We know the size of the required funding settlement it will take to deliver this change will be significant.

Spending increases of £1.5 billion over the past five years have not rebalanced the system towards early intervention services, slowed demand, or made local government finances more sustainable. Instead, additional spending has followed a now well-worn path to high-cost services for children in care.

A child with short brown hair is talking to an adult with short brown hair. They are both outdoors, holding basketballs, towels, and water.

Breaking the cycle

Local authorities are unlikely to be able to break this cycle if they are unable to service growing demand in the short-term, and at the same time invest in the kind of reform that will rebalance the system long-term. The opportunity to deliver a system which enables a greater number of children to stay with their families, more young people to grow up in stable and loving homes, and fewer children experiencing abuse, neglect, harm, or exploitation, means the stakes for delivering this change could not be higher.

Our recommendations

  • Invest at the next opportunity: The current Government should provide funding for wholesale reform to children’s social care at the next fiscal opportunity to provide certainty to the sector. Due to the impact of inflation, and the additional costs stemming from delaying reform, this funding will need to exceed the £2.6bn recommended by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.
  • Cross party commitment to wholesale reform: Ahead of the next election, all major political parties in England should commit to implementing wholesale reform to children social care, backed by significant investment in early intervention as recommended by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, and the subsequent implementation strategy of the present Government.
Boy looking out of window, side profile.

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