Vulnerable children at risk as voluntary services struggle

The public sector union’s research into the impact of austerity across its voluntary sector members found charities are struggling to maintain services because of cuts in public sector grants and contract funding.

The survey of nearly 3,000 voluntary sector professionals across all public services also found staff are having their terms and conditions eroded due to austerity, resulting in increased workloads, longer hours, and absence due to illness and stress.

Among voluntary sector practitioners working in children’s services, 72 per cent say children may be “slipping through the safety net”; 36 per cent said they do not have enough time to prepare risk assessments and support plans; and 15 per cent are unable to monitor children and follow up abuse and neglect concerns.

More than four in 10 of the survey respondents also said they have less time to spend with each child, while more than half reported less resources were available for toys and activities for deprived children.

A children’s worker at an autism and disabilities service in the South West of England told the report’s authors: “Due to financial pressures we have to combine more vulnerable children with children with challenging behaviour. It creates an unsafe environment for both the child and the staff. There have been medication and other errors due to time pressure.”

The report, A Step Forward, says low pay is “endemic” across the sector with many having to take additional jobs to make ends meet. Half of those surveyed said their pay had remained the same over the past year while one in five had seen it fall; a quarter don’t get paid the living wage; one in 10 are on zero-hours contracts; and the average level of debt is £2,000.

Austerity has pushed some services and voluntary sector staff to breaking point, the report says, with 55 per cent of respondents saying they are working more than their contracted hours, mostly unpaid; 40 per cent describing their morale as poor or very poor; and three quarters feeling stressed due to work pressures.

A children’s worker from eastern England told the report’s authors: “My employer should acknowledge that work is not the sole priority and people have lives outside of the work we do. We need some clinical supervision to help with the stress of the job – the increasing stress levels are making me feel unconfident in the work I am doing.”

Unison is calling for the creation of a major commission or inquiry to examine the impact of austerity in the community and voluntary sector, and recommends that public sector commissioners should include an assessment of estimated staffing levels and working hours in all contract tenders.

It also wants the living wage to be made the minimum pay level for staff across the sector, and for workers employed on zero-hours contracts to be given the right to transfer to ‘annual hours’ alternatives.

Kathy Evans, chief executive of Children England, said: “Children’s charities face a real challenge managing the interconnected pressures of austerity, rising demand and poor commissioning practice.
 
“We absolutely agree with Unison that the reality experienced by staff on the frontline should prompt policymakers to think urgently about the steps they can take to protect vital voluntary sector services.”