The Children's Fund money, available over three years, will be used for preventive work in 40 areas across England with the highest levels of need and disadvantage among children and young people. The amount of funding in each area will reflect the numbers of children in poverty there and will also vary according to the content and quality of the proposals. An average allocation could be between 1.5m and 2m.
Local authorities will identify a strategic partnership that can plan and develop preventive services, including structured out-of-school projects in high-crime areas for the children most at risk of offending, support for parents with courses or work in the home, and befriending and counselling for lone parents or step-parents.
Education secretary David Blunkett said, 'This fund is an important element of the Government's wider strategy to reduce child poverty and exclusion. These areas will pioneer a new approach in the way services are planned and delivered. Only by joining up services at a local level can we hope to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable children.'
The Child Poverty Action Group welcomed the funding but said there needed to be 'minimal bureaucracy and genuine partnership between local authorities and the voluntary sector' if it was to deliver. Group director Martin Barnes said, 'The Children's Fund is an imaginative recognition of the importance of services and community support. While this is a start, child poverty will only end with further substantial investment, not least in improving family incomes.
'We are pessimistic and frustrated about the ability of some local authorities to deliver genuine partnerships to tackle child poverty. It would be sadly ironic if local authorities are at the same time causing hardship for families because their housing benefit administration or other services are under strain.'