Vulnerable children at risk as children's services struggle to survive

According to the union, which surveyed 3,000 community and voluntary workers, charities that provide services for children and disabled people are having to rely on winning public sector contracts just to survive.

Unison says that as ‘austerity has bitten’, funding for these contracts has been squeezed to breaking point, leading to underfunded services putting children at risk.

Findings from the union’s ‘Speak-out’ survey revealed that 15 per cent of respondents providing children's services said they do not have enough time to monitor children and follow-up concerns of neglect or abuse.

More than 35 per cent reported not having enough time to prepare risk assessments and support plans, 55 per cent said they now provide fewer resources, such as toys for children, and 52 per cent provide fewer outside activities.

Of the 3,000 community and voluntary workers that were surveyed, 72 per cent said they were concerned that children may be ‘slipping through the safety net’.

A worker, providing respite services for children with autism, challenging behaviour and profound disabilities, said, ‘Due to financial pressures we have to combine more vulnerable children with those with challenging behaviour. It creates an unsafe environment for both the child and the staff. There have been medication and other errors due to time pressure.’

According to Unison, the cuts to services are also impacting upon the workforce. More than 20 per cent of survey respondents said that their take-home pay has decreased and 24 per cent are not paid the Living Wage.

Employers choose to pay the Living Wage, which is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. The Living Wage for London is £8.80 per hour and £7.65 for the rest of the country. In comparison, the current Minimum Wage is £6.31 (aged 21 and over).

Unison is now calling on the Government to have a ‘major re-think’ in its attitude to the third sector.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said, ‘This survey must ring alarm bells in Whitehall. The Government should give charities the means to do what they do best and that is to improve lives and care for people. The whole sector is reaching breaking point and ministers need to wake up to the damage and misery that their austerity drive is creating.

‘The voluntary sector attracts many thousands of dedicated, hardworking staff, who are bearing the brunt of the austerity drive, through damaging cuts to their pay and conditions.

The survey follows a warning from Sir Merrick Cockell, Conservative chairman of the Local Government Association, to chancellor George Osborne yesterday that council services are at ‘breaking point’.

Sir Merrick urged Mr Osborne to reverse his plans to withhold £1 billion in council funding for 2015-2016, as he said that the cuts to local authority budgets will mean services such as Sure Start children’s centres will have to close.