“Twelve years of austerity and a 50 per cent real terms reduction in local authority budgets, plus reductions in other public services, has impeded the ability to work with children and families as early as possible to prevent the escalation of need”, a report by the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) states.
While “disparate pots of time-limited grant funding from government and local authority investment over the past two years has helped to alleviate some demand pressures” it adds “there is no substitute for a long term equitable and sufficient funding settlement”.
The report into safeguarding pressures facing local authorities, is based on evidence from 125 councils.
By the end of March this year there had been 2.77 million initial contacts to children’s social workers over the previous 12 months. This is an increase of 10 per cent over the previous two years, the report finds .
An estimated 282,320 early help assessments were completed in 2021/22, up 16 per cent on the previous year.
Since 2007/8 the number of child protection plans has increased by 74 per cent and the number of children in care has risen by 35 per cent.
One London council representative told researchers that referrals to its early help service are “currently at an all-time high”.
“The predominant concerns we are seeing for families over the past six months are in relation to housing concerns, financial difficulties and poor mental health, much of which can be attributed to the impact of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis,” they added.
Parental domestic abuse and substance misuse are among other common reasons why children need early help, the report found.
Abuse and neglect remain the main reasons why children enter care.
Today #ADCS publishes the full Safeguarding Pressures Phase 8 report, providing a unique insight into safeguarding related pressures facing children’s services in England in 2020/22.
— 🌈Updates from ADCS (@ADCStweets) December 14, 2022
Read it here👉🏽https://t.co/MWiE2AIkPq
“Families are less resilient than they were, and so are public services,” said ADCS president Steve Crocker.
“This research highlights the many challenges we face in identifying or meeting children’s needs as early or as well as we would like to.”
The research also looks at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s social care. It found that national lockdowns had cut demand for children’s social care, which is now increasing in a “post pandemic state” where families are facing “multi-faceted challenges”.
“Sadly, were it not for the pandemic experience, some of these needs could have been met earlier in the system and not escalated to crisis point,” Crocker added.
“On top of this after 12 years of austerity and hand-to-mouth funding for local authorities, we do not have enough social workers or placements for children in care and the cost of both are spiralling. Funding does not match the levels of need we are seeing.”
Crocker warns that “too often funding is allocated on a competitive and short-term basis or taken out of the system completely, lining the pockets of rapacious hedge funds”.
He added: “We are increasingly worried about the cost-of-living crisis and how many more children will fall into poverty, reducing their quality of life and their life chances. The system is crying out for change.”
Ministers are being urged by the ADCS to bring together separate policy initiatives and funding pots for children and ensure money is steered away from “private sector profiteering”.
