Children's Services in "State of Emergency" Amidst Growing Inequality, Report Warns

Children's services in England are in a "state of emergency," with young people facing extreme and unfair inequality, according to a new report by the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza. The "Childhood Lottery" report analyzes over a hundred metrics across health, social care, education, safety, and play, concluding that a "postcode lottery" has led to a "litany of failures" impacting children.

The report found that deprivation alone does not fully explain the disparities in children's experiences, as some poorer areas scored higher in the analysis than relatively well-off ones. Dame Rachel is calling for minimum standards for children's services and an emergency fund to address necessary improvements.

"The extent of failure is too great," Dame Rachel stated, adding that the current situation should be viewed as "nothing less than a national emergency." She urged for larger local authorities and mayors to play a greater role in providing better education, health, youth services, and policing for children.

Middlesbrough, Hounslow, Bradford, Nottingham, Halton, Peterborough, Leicester, Liverpool, Sunderland, and Medway were identified as the most challenging places to grow up in England. Conversely, Cheshire East, Merton, Surrey, Richmond upon Thames, Hertfordshire, Cheshire West and Chester, Haringey, Leicestershire, Central Bedfordshire, and Wokingham were described as the "least challenging places to be a child."

The report highlights significant variations in service delivery. For instance, it took six days for a child to be referred for mental health assessments in Leicester, compared to 118 days in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. In terms of educational attainment, 70% of children in Richmond upon Thames achieved good grades in English and maths GCSEs, while only 31% did so in Knowsley. Safety perceptions also varied, with 6.7% of children in Bedford feeling unsafe in their local area, versus 24.9% in Croydon.

Spending on youth services per teenager was zero in four local council areas. Dental care access also showed disparities, with 86% of children in Redcar and Cleveland seeing a dentist in the last year, compared to 39% in Hackney. Hackney was among 25 areas where fewer than half of children had seen a dentist.

The report indicated that general poverty was not always the sole determinant of poor children's services. Haringey, in North London, received a high score for its children's services despite high deprivation levels, while Cambridge, a less deprived area, ranked lower.

Dame Rachel recommended establishing a minimum set of standards for education, policing, health, and youth services affecting children. She also proposed that "strategic authorities," including areas with mayors and larger local councils, should be required to appoint a deputy mayor for children responsible for assessing the impact of all policies on young people.

In a related commentary, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised increased investment in "the success of our young people," stating that the government could no longer support their "failure through the benefits system."