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Funding for early intervention 'cut by half' over ten years – analysis

Policy & Politics Funding Provision Families
A joint report by leading children’s charities has found that councils have been forced to halve early intervention spending on vulnerable children over the last decade.
Councils have cut spending on early help in some of the poorest areas in England by more than 80 per cent, according to the report by children's charities PHOTO Adobe Stock
Councils have cut spending on early help in some of the poorest areas in England by more than 80 per cent, according to the report by children's charities PHOTO Adobe Stock

Local authority spending in England on crucial services that help stop children reaching crisis point was cut from £3.6 billion to £1.8bn between 2010 and 2020, according to an analysis of council budgets, with the poorest parts of the country being worst hit.

The impact of the pandemic is likely to have made it even harder for councils to offer early intervention services for families over the last 15 months, as councils across the country struggle to balance their budgets, the report says.

The analysis of council budgets between 2010 and 2020, commissioned by Action for Children, Barnardo’s, The Children’s Society, National Children’s Bureau and NSPCC - shows that local authorities are ‘trapped in a vicious circle’.

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