CYP Now - The need to properly finance local authorities

During the first lockdown, many county leaders across the country feared that restrictions on children’s services – and particularly the inability to make contact and build support links face-to-face – would have huge consequences: creating an invisible crisis.

With schools closing and other services going digital only for a period, the usual support routes for young people to confide of abuse, or for workers to identify signs of concern, were closed off.

The County Councils Network has carried out a survey of its members to which the vast majority responded. The survey showed that most counties did see a reduction in cases during the lockdown months of April, May, and June – dramatically so in some areas. One county said that April saw its lowest amount of referrals for 12 months.

In the months since the country opened up, those county areas saw a jump in referrals of 15 per cent – an increase of 7,500 vulnerable young people or over 630 referrals a day on average.

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