Let's hold our nerve for children in this crisis
Ravi Chandiramani
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It's been an eventful October, hasn't it? We are waiting for the dust to settle from the cataclysmic events of the last few weeks to see the full impact of the economic crisis on services for children and young people.
What is certain is that the credit crunch will bite hard. The next public spending round is likely to be much tighter than anyone would have expected in the first part of the year and the ramifications will be felt for some time. There are at least three areas where cuts could have a profound effect.
The first is preventive services. The economic situation will force many local authority children's services departments to examine which services they can afford to dispense with. There is a real risk that the preventive programmes that are at the heart of Every Child Matters will be sacrificed. A play scheme or youth participation project will be less controversial casualties than many of the harder-edged services. Given that they save money in the long-term, any moves to scale back prevention programmes drastically would be a perverse reaction to the economic crisis. Local authorities and primary care trusts should hold their nerve on prevention.
Second, we could be about to see the breaks slammed on private sector involvement in schools. The academies programme suffered a blow when its most powerful advocate Lord Andrew Adonis moved out of the Department for Children, Schools and Families last week. But given the economic crisis, sponsors for new academies will be harder to come by anyway. Aside from academies, the Building Schools for the Future refurbishment programme is also likely to suffer due to its reliance on bank loans and big capital funds.
Third is the impact on the voluntary sector. As many charities find that their funds begin to dry up, there are bound to be a spate of mergers ahead, particularly between smaller charities. But the voluntary sector could also be hurt by the squeeze on local authority budgets. If councils are looking to make cuts, they can't touch services that are farmed out to charities on three-year contracts. So in the future, this could make councils more cautious about commissioning the voluntary sector and keep provision in-house.
The sector is facing its toughest period in a generation. Being smart with budgets without sacrificing innovation and outcomes for children and young people will be key to weathering the storm.
