Labour urges government to tackle £2bn children's services funding crisis

Speaking in parliament, John McDonnell said Chancellor Philip Hammond should use the spring statement, which will be delivered on 13 March, to help struggling children's services departments.

The Local Government Association has calculated that over the next three years, annual spending by councils on children's services will be nearly £2bn more than this year, claiming this "funding gap" can be attributed to rising demand in children's services and falling grants from central government.

McDonnell accused the government of having "no understanding whatsoever of the crisis created by the cuts of the past eight years and their impact on local government".

"The number of children taken into care is at its highest level since 1985, and one in three councillors are warning that the cuts have left them with insufficient resources to support these children," he said.

He added that nine out of 10 councils are struggling to meet their legal duties to children, half of councils are planning to further cut children's services and pointed to the words of president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services Alison Michalska, who has previously said "we cannot go on as we are".

"Recent estimates of government spending and income show that the Chancellor will have sufficient resources to protect our children from further cuts," McDonnell said.