The Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP

Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government

Dear Robert,

I am writing to draw your attention to research from five leading children’s charities - Action for Children, The Children’s Society, Barnardo’s, NSPCC and the National Children’s Bureau – which has found that because of central Government cuts, locally provided children’s services are in an unsustainable position, creating an unstable foundation from which to build a recovery for children and families following the Covid-19 crisis. 

These charities estimate that funding available for councils to spend on children’s services has fallen by £2.2 billion between 2010/11 and 2018/19, which equates to 23% on average across England. Yet council spending has reduced by just 6% in this period, demonstrating the extent to which councils are plugging the gap.  In the same period, estimated funding for children’s services fell by £15,348,041 in Brighton and Hove, where m constituency is based, representing a 25% reduction in funding for services. Across South East the estimated reduction in funding is 15%.

One of the consequences is that spending on crucial early intervention services has dropped by almost half nationally during this period.  Meanwhile, spending on crisis services, such as safeguarding and children in care, has increased. In Brighton and Hove spending on early intervention has decreased by 36%, whilst spend on late intervention has increased by 3%. As one constituent points out: This shows that councils are in a Catch-22 because they know that the best long-term option for their area is to invest in early intervention services to reduce the number of children getting to crisis point - but with a lack of funding, all too often, this simply not an option for them. In the worst cases, this will mean chances to spot signs of emerging problems are missed – from language development in the early years to risky behaviour amongst teenagers.

With demand for statutory services continuing to increase, the funding gap is growing and it’s likely to be made more unsustainable by the Covid-19 crisis. Despite local authorities taking steps to develop new ways of working and drive limited resources towards children’s services, the situation is unsustainable. Across England there were 650,900 referrals to children’s services in 2018/19 because an adult or professional was concerned about a child. In Brighton and Hove, there were 419 Looked after Children and 2039 children with a social worker in 2018/19.

I am worried, as are my constituents, that local authorities are simply not equipped to properly protect children and families from the impact of this pandemic. I am therefore calling om you to use the upcoming spending review to address the lack of funding in children’s services across the country and to rebalance spending so we can use early intervention services to reduce future demand for crisis services. Before the pandemic the Government had already made £1 billion available for adult and children’s social care, but this was insufficient to close the funding gap and there was no guarantee how much would be spent on children. Moreover, whilst the Government has committed £3.2bn to support councils to play their role in the fight against CV-19, lost revenues and a likely new rise in demand for children’s services as the crisis eases, mean sustained investment is required. Without Government restoring funding to at least 2010 levels at the Spending Review, there is a very real risk that local authorities will be unable to keep children in their communities safe and help families recover.

The UK’s leading children’s charities are calling for a Covid-19 Recovery Plan for Children which addresses the issue of funding for children’s services. I would like to echo this call and urge you to reinstate the £2.2 billion lost from funding available for children and young people’s services over the last decade. This is the only way to guarantee all local authorities have the resources they need to develop a consistent offer of evidence based early intervention, and ensure there is a clear link between the likely level of need and the level of funding available in Brighton and Hove, and every other local area.

We know children’s experiences of COVID-19 will be unequal – that those facing additional economic and social pressures will be most at risk of having the disruption of lockdown compounded by a lack of access to resources, family pressures, intensifying mental health issues and the risk of abuse and neglect. The upcoming spending review is a chance to make this right by fully funding local authorities to repair harm and rebuild childhoods.

Yours sincerely,