Over the same period, spending on late interventions has risen by £2.2bn to total £8.2bn by 2020/21. Provisional figures suggest this will grow beyond £8.5bn in 2021/22 and some sector experts project it will be £10bn by 2025. The bulk of the increase is on children in care, for which the total bill has grown 47 per cent to £5.3bn in 2020/21.
Analysis by Pro Bono Economics for the Children’s Services Funding Alliance coalition of children’s charities published in July, shows the gap between the amounts councils spend on late and early interventions has grown from a 60/40 split in 2010/11 to 80/20 by 2020/21. The shift is mainly due to the £2bn cut in the early intervention grant that government gives to local authorities, and as early help services are not statutory they are most vulnerable to being cut when budgets are tight.
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