SPENDING on early support for children has been reduced by Oxfordshire County Council by about £18 million over the decade, according to a new report.

A coalition of charities – The Children’s Society, Action for Children, Barnardo’s, National Children’s Bureau and the NSPCC – says councils have struggled with the impact of funding cuts, with many of the poorest areas hardest hit.

Research by Pro Bono Economics found that spending on early intervention support – which prevents children from coming to harm – was around £20.1 million in Oxfordshire in 2020-21.

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However, this was down 47 per cent since 2010 -11 in real terms, taking inflation into account, effectively a fall of £18 million in today's money.

It meant real terms drop from £180 per child to £89.

Investment in early support services – which range from children’s centres and youth clubs, to targeted support with issues like drug and alcohol misuse – halved from £3.8 billion to £1.9 billion in real terms across England over this period.

The charities said this has created a "vicious cycle", where councils are forced to spend more on costly crisis support, leaving more children and young people exposed to risks like exploitation, neglect and mental ill-health.

Mark Russell, chief executive at The Children’s Society, said: “Young people have told us they felt they needed to get hurt or harm someone in order be taken seriously.

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“It’s a big concern that children in deprived areas, where needs may be greatest, are often among those least likely to get help before problems spiral out of control.

“If ministers are serious about Levelling Up they must better target funding to the areas that need it most."

Researchers found spending on crisis and late intervention services rose from £6 billion to £8.2 billion in real terms across England over the decade.

In Oxfordshire, this type of spending rose from £48.2 million to £88.8 million in real terms over this time.

The charities are now calling for the next Prime Minister to invest a minimum of £2.6 billion extra in children’s social care and for local authorities to be awarded extra funding in the next Chancellor’s first Budget.

A Government spokesman said: “We have made an additional £3.7 billion available to councils this year alone to help them deliver key services and support families.

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“We are backing families with better and earlier access to services that keep them safe and healthy, by expanding a network of Family Hubs all over England and increasing investment in the Supporting Families programme, which is helping to keep up to 300,000 families together safely and provide loving homes for children."

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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