Leading children’s charities have advised that recent government investment must be used to rebalance children’s services towards early support, as new analysis shows the scale of financial pressure facing councils in England in responding to families in crisis.
Poverty and deprivation, housing and homelessness, and the unmet mental health needs of children, young people and parents are all factors contributing to the scale of demand in local communities.
A new report by economic think-tank PBE, commissioned by The Children’s Services Funding Alliance (Action for Children, Barnardo’s, National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, and The Children’s Society), shows local authorities in England spent a record £14.7 billion on children’s services in 2024/25.
The report provides an important baseline for judging whether new government funding commitments succeed in rebalancing the system over the next three years. While the increased investment is a major opportunity, this new analysis shows that children’s services are entering this period under intense pressure.
The analysis finds spending on early help services fell by 40% between 2011 and 2025, with more than 80% of children’s services budgets consumed by late intervention such as children entering care and other acute services. The charities warn this has created a system increasingly forced to respond to crisis rather than prevent it.
The number of children in care has risen by 25% since 2011 to 82,000, far outstripping child population growth in the UK at only 7%. At the same time, the average annual cost of supporting a child in care has climbed to more than £100,000, up from £77,000 just five years ago, primarily driven by a combination of rising numbers of children in local authority care, increases in the complexity of children’s needs and escalating costs of care placements.
Despite these substantial cost increases, children in care continue to achieve significantly worse educational outcomes than average, with only 8% achieving grade 5 or above in English and Maths GCSEs, compared to 45% of all pupils. A staggering 40% of care leavers aged 19-21 are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
"Because I was in the care system, I got moved around a lot to different schools, didn't fit in well and got into a lot of problems,” said T, a 22-year-old from Bristol who grew up in the care system. “I felt that one school in particular felt that I was an embarrassment to them and they tried to ship me out when they had inspectors."
Data from the Department for Education also reveals that, in 2025 alone, 6,750 children experienced three or more placement moves in a single year, while increasing numbers went missing from care.
Speaking on behalf of the Children’s Services Funding Alliance, Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s, said: “This report lays bare the devastating consequences of a decade of cuts to early help services. It is extraordinary that more than 80% of children’s services spending now goes on crisis response, with too many children and families being left without support until their problems escalate to crisis point.
“Every statistic in this report represents a child who needed help earlier, and a family that may have been able to stay together with the right support.”
She added: “The government has begun the work needed to grasp this generational opportunity to break the cycle, by investing in early support that helps families sooner, prevents harm escalating, and gives children the stability and opportunities they need to thrive. We will be watching closely and hopefully to see whether it delivers the change needed for children and families over the coming years.”