Children's centres 'should take on mental health role'

A report by ResPublica, called Making Young Minds Matter, claims action is needed to reshape support services for young people, pinpointing the role children's centres could play in providing broader provision.

"The trust and familiarity of the public with the children's centre model makes it uniquely well-placed to drive forward a systemic early intervention approach," the report states.

"This should be recognised and the age profile of their service offer expanded, as is already the case in some localities such as the Isle of Wight, offering more and better opportunities to help families and prevent problems developing to the point where children are on the edge of care or experiencing emotional distress."

The report states that funding cuts in recent years have led some authorities to restrict access to services offered through centres to higher-needs families.

"Government, in partnership with service providers, should review the funding required to offer an effective 0-19, universally accessible service in all local authority areas," it states.

The report suggests that this could be undertaken as part of the consultation on the future of children's centres, which was announced in 2015 but has yet to take place.

The report also calls for councils to be provided with loans from central government in order to allow them to commission longer term contracts with organisations that support children with mental health problems.

It says that an increasing trend towards short-term contracting of mental health support for children makes it hard to offer effective long-term support from an early stage.

The report, which has been compiled alongside children's charity Barnardo's, says subsidised loans provided though the Treasury's Debt Management Office would enable councils to commission longer-term contracts of five years or more.

"In the face of deep concerns about the long-term viability of local government funding, government must in partnership with local government explore what new sources of revenue can be made available to local authorities to provide them with long-term financial security," the report states.

"In the short run, government should signal its willingness to offer subsidised loans to local authorities' borrowing to honour a contract with a duration of five years or more."

The report also calls for a levy on social media firms that are not doing enough to address the negative impact of social media on young people's health.

Former children's minister Tim Loughton said he backs the report's recommendations.

"As a society, we can no longer afford to overlook the needs of our vulnerable young people and I echo this report's call for government to make addressing their needs a top priority for this parliament," he said.

Javed Khan, chief executive of Barnardo's said the report draws attention to the crucial role of support services for young people.

"It sets out a clear-sighted picture of how the help we provide as a country to our most vulnerable children and young people will need to change in the coming years," he said.

"I call on the institutions of national and local government to seize this opportunity and accompany us as we undertake the task of converting its ambitions into reality."

Cat Smith, Labour's shadow minister for voter engagement and youth affairs, urged the government to consider the report when drafting its youth policy statement, which was promised last November.

"The report highlights the vital role charities and other service providers play in supporting the younger generation and the importance of involving young people as stakeholders in this process," said Smith.

"The report also raises serious concerns about the long-term viability of local government funding for children and youth services. I hope this government will consider the proposals put forward in this paper when developing their delayed youth policy statement."

The recommendations in full:

• Government should introduce a "duty" to require local authorities to promote collaborative working between all relevant stakeholders in designing and delivering support services for young people, alongside a standardised impact model to facilitate this aim
• Government should allow further devolution deals, in line with the Greater Manchester model, to enable other regions to undertake radical public service reform at the local level
• Government should provide long-term funding certainty to local authorities, alongside ring-fencing of central funding for frontline services for looked-after children and young people with mental health difficulties
• The new What Works Centre for Children's Social Care should look into best practice and innovation in engaging young people in service design and delivery
• Government should establish an Innovation Fund to explore the potential for new technology to engage young people in public services
• Government should review the funding required for local authorities and service providers to work together to offer universal 0-19 service provision in children's centres