Responding to a new National Audit Office report revealing the pressures facing children’s social care, Sam Royston, Director of Policy and Research at The Children’s Society, said:
“This is a wake-up call for the Government to get to grips with the growing demand facing children’s services departments and to urgently address the £3bn shortfall they face by 2025.
“Behind these numbers lie vulnerable children in desperate need of support. Councils need more funding to prevent issues from arising and escalating, and ensure children and families get the help they need when this does sadly happen.
“Without it, more children will continue to be at risk of harm and there is a real danger that the life chances of hundreds of thousands of children will be damaged.”