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Autumn statement 2023: Council leaders slam failure to tackle ‘crumbling’ children’s services

2 mins read Social Care
The government’s autumn statement has failed to help children’s services meet rising demand for support and funding cuts, local authority leaders are warning.
John Pearce is director of children’s services at Durham County Council
John Pearce is director of children’s services at Durham County Council - ADCS

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt’s statement this week did not include extra support being called for by councils to tackle escalating children’s services costs following years of funding cuts.

Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) president John Pearce said the government “has failed to take the opportunity to address significant funding challenges facing council children’s services”, which are “crumbling under the pressure of more than a decade of austerity, rising demand for help and support and inflation”.

He warns that several councils “are now effectively bankrupt, with a growing number of others dangerously close to this point” as local authorities face a £4bn funding shortfall over the next two years.

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