media - many people are saying that child protection services are
getting worse. It is hardly surprising. Council funding has reduced by
40 per cent in the past five years and is dropping another 30 per cent
in the years ahead.
Police budgets follow the same trend and local health commissioning budgets are now going the same way. But I have to admit that they have not deteriorated as fast or as obviously as I had expected. I believe, though, that we may now be approaching a critical point, where service failures will become much more evident.
When the age of austerity began four or so years ago, many of us predicted that it would take about three years before evidence of real crisis began to emerge.
The theory went like this. First, any service can lose about 10 per cent of its budget without too much pain, and we all knew of some services where money was being wasted. Most budgets had been growing in the years leading up to the recession, so the first round of cuts was just removing recent improvements.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
