Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry said: “Today’s spending review includes welcome funding for children – especially the vital extension of free school meals to a further 500,000 children who need it most. Sadly though, today’s announcement fell short of what was needed to address the ongoing impact of the covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, at a time when too many children are living in poverty, missing school, and struggling with their mental health.
“With a record number of children needing to live in foster care or children’s homes in England, we welcome the investment in support for families to avoid crisis – but from the announcement today, this won’t go nearly far enough to meet the growing demand for these services. That means we will continue to miss chances to keep children safely with their families.
“The government has rightly committed to creating opportunities for what should be the healthiest ever generation of children, but this will require much more action to increase families’ incomes and provide a network of family centres in every community. The autumn budget will have some heavy lifting to do.”