Sector demands early intervention commitment from next government
Joe Lepper
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
More than 50 children's sector organisations have joined forces to call on the next government to significantly boost early intervention spending.
A total of 54 charity bosses and children’s campaigners have signed an open letter to the next government calling for action, including Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan, Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, and NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanlass.
Others signing the open letter include leading youth justice figures such as Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Frances Crook, as well as mental health experts including YoungMinds chief executive Sarah Brennan.
The letter calls on all leading political parties to fulfil their respective manifesto pledges on early intervention if elected.
“As we tragically see every day, the human cost, anguish and wasted potential of failing to intervene early can last a lifetime," the letter states.
“If families and children are supported earlier, fewer children will need to be taken into care, be excluded from school, develop mental health problems or commit crimes.
"We must support them from the earliest stage to nurture the skills they need to cope with life’s challenges and flourish.
"We must transform children’s lives before it is too late.”
The call for early intervention spending to be ramped up has been co-ordinated by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF).
Carey Oppenheim, chief executive of the foundation, said: “Our organisations are uniting to send a powerful message to whoever forms the new government.
“The main political parties have rightly emphasised the need for early intervention and prevention in their manifestos and elsewhere.
"This indicates a serious cross-party commitment to shifting spending from late to early, which should be a key priority for whatever government is elected or formed.
“A long-term national commitment is needed to shift our public services away from picking up the pieces from the harmful and costly consequences of failure.
"To do this requires a different way of working – one which is built around the wellbeing of children and families rather than separate departments, funding streams and working in silos."
In February the EIF, which was set up by the government to promote early intervention, estimated that dealing with social problems affecting young people costs the government around £17bn a year.
It says investing in earlier intervention will reduce this annual cost by 10 per cent by 2020.
The Liberal Democrat manifesto pledges to “continue to invest in early intervention, by further expanding the Troubled Families Programme and building on the work of the EIF to spread evidence of what works”.
The Conservative manifesto focuses on early intervention as a way of reducing crime.
“We will focus not only on punishment but on rehabilitating offenders and intervening early to prevent troubled young people being drawn into crime,” the party's manifesto states.
Meanwhile, Labour's manifesto promises to “promote early years intervention, supporting young children and their parents and dealing with problems before they get out of hand”.
It also pledges support for teachers to help identify children with mental health problems at an early stage.