More than a million vulnerable children in England are being damaged and their life chances reduced by cuts to early years and youth support since 2010 which should be reversed, a House of Lords committee has said today.
In response, Barnardo's interim Co-CEO Lynn Perry MBE said:
“Barnardo’s has long warned that children’s social care is becoming an ‘emergency service’, available only to those at crisis point or beyond.
“With the number of children in local authority care rising year on year, we must take action to support families before problems escalate. Only then can we truly ‘level up’ opportunities and give every child the best start in life.
“A £500m package for family hubs was announced in the Budget, but we are calling on the Government to go even further and ensure there is enough funding for a hub in every community - to help families with everything from breastfeeding to keeping teenagers safe from criminal exploitation. We know family hubs make a vital difference to parents and children struggling with challenges like poverty, mental health and domestic abuse.”