Comment: Latest DfE children looked after statistics

Rachel Dickinson, ADCS President, said:

“The figures show that local authorities continue to safeguard and protect children and young people in their local areas, despite facing a 50% reduction in our budgets since 2010 and significantly increased demand. The statistics don’t show the many cases where local authorities are working intensively with children and families to enable them to stay together safely. Our ability to work with children and families at the earliest opportunity to prevent them from reaching crisis point is being diminished by an estimated £3.1 billion funding gap in children’s services by 2025. Reductions in other public services, child poverty and increasing instances of domestic abuse and poor parental mental health in our communities is also impacting on this goal. We still await a long-term funding settlement that transcends parliamentary cycles. The next government must recognise that the benefits of investing in children expand beyond the individual to society as a whole.”

ENDS

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