Councils don't have enough money to meet their statutory duties to children

This is despite 87 per cent saying that demand for services has increased over the last two years.

The findings are from a survey of 101 local authority lead members with responsibility for children’s services, published today and carried out this month by Survation on behalf of the National Children’s Bureau (NCB).

The survey also found that:

The findings echo those of a poll of 508 Conservative councillors by Action for Children last week, which found that over half agree that Government cuts have made it harder for councils to meet their legal responsibilities for children and young people.

Lead members responsible for children’s services  who responded to NCB said the extra burden on local authorities has come about for a number of reasons. Half said it was partly due to increased levels of poverty and hardship, while 45 per cent said cuts to other services for families, such as housing support, were a contributing factor. Nearly a quarter said that rising levels of abuse and neglect was one of the reasons behind the increase in demand, and more than a third said it was in part due to professionals getting better at spotting the signs of a child in ‘urgent need’.