More money being spent on children's residential care than on early intervention services

Declining spending on early intervention services is driving a 102% increase in the number of children in care in the past 12 years, a coalition of charities has said.

For the first time, more money is being spent on children's residential care than on early intervention services to prevent children needing to go into care as many families are not receiving support before they reach crisis point.

Early intervention includes services such as children's centres, family hubs, and youth services.

The Children's Charity Coalition, which includes organisations such as NSPCC, Action for Children, Barnardo's, The Children's Society, and the National Children's Bureau, are calling for an urgent reform of the children's social care system, and investment in the Autumn budget to prioritise early intervention.

The call comes following research by Pro Bono Economics, which found that in 2022/23, local authorities in England spent £2.4 billion on residential care placements, compared with £2.2 billion on all early intervention services that support families and help prevent children entering care.

It also found there has been a drop of almost half (44%) of spending on early intervention services for families by councils.

The spending on late intervention services when families reach crisis point has reached record levels, increasing by £3.6 billion in 12 years (a 57% increase).

Most of this late intervention spending has been towards funding children in residential care. The number of children in residential care has more than doubled since 2011, with spending on these placements increasing by £1.1billion. Almost half of this increase has occurred in the last 2 years.

The coalition say that child poverty, the mental health crisis, and years of financial struggles within local authorities have exacerbated a vicious cycle of decline in early help when it is needed most.

They argue the government needs to invest more into preventative early intervention services and a sustained approach to eradicating child poverty in the budget on 30 October.

“We are stuck in a vicious cycle, with less and less support for children and families, just as rising poverty and poor mental health mean they are needed more than ever before,” Lynn Perry, CEO of Barnardo’s said, speaking on behalf of the Children’s Charities Coalition.

“It’s absolutely right that councils prioritise children and young people already in crisis, so the only answer must be additional investment in services that help to prevent these crises in the first place.”