Citing unpublished research by the National College, Matt Dunkley told professionals at the ADCS annual conference that local authorities across the country have slashed an average of 13 per cent off their budgets this year. The figure matches the findings of CYP Now's survey on cuts to children's services budgets published earlier this year.
"We have shared services, re-structured, re-shaped, re-commissioned and de-commissioned services, revised service offers, frozen pay, cut pay, mutualised, merged and gone lean – and that was just in the first month of this financial year," he said.
But while Dunkley said councils are managing financial challenges well, he warned that vital universal services for children and young people are increasingly under threat.
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