Cases of child neglect increase by 75 per cent
Joe Lepper
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Child cruelty and neglect cases, recorded by police across the UK, have risen by 75 per cent over the last decade, according to latest research published by the NSPCC.
The charity's How Safe Are Our Children? 2016 annual child protection review has revealed a surge in recorded cases, from 6,616 in 2005/6 to 10,136 in 2014/15.
Greater public awareness of safeguarding issues as well as improvements in how police record offences are seen as key factors in the rise, the charity said.
The figures also show that parents and carers are increasingly likely to be involved in cases of neglect. In 2005/6, 73 per cent of cases involved parents and carers but this rose to 84 per cent in 20014/15.
Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said neglect is the most common form of child abuse and "can wreak havoc on a child's brain development, emotional wellbeing, ability to form relationships, and mental health".
"These levels of neglect simply do not belong to the 21st century," he added.
"Many of these lonely, frightened, children have to resort to desperate measures to survive after being left to fend for themselves and it shames our nation that these numbers are so high. It's an unacceptable situation, which must be remedied."
Wanless said greater investment in preventative measures targeting parents who need support in raising their children is required. He added that "good relationships between parents and social workers are vital if we are to help families and help end neglect".
The NSPCC said that 16,000 calls made to its helpline last year were related to child neglect, which is also a feature of six out of 10 serious case reviews into a child death or incident of serious injury or abuse.
Anne Longfield, children's commissioner for England, said the rise in reported neglect is "concerning" and said she plans to investigate the reasons behind it in the coming months.
She also called for better access to mental health support for children involved so that they can "start rebuilding their lives".
"Our recent research into children's mental health found many young people, some with life-threatening conditions, were unable to access a local mental health service or faced long waits," Longfield added.
