Conservative austerity cuts (initially propped up by the Lib Dems) planted a ticking time bomb for UK children. Now research from children’s charity Barnardo’s has found that since 2010 spending on early intervention services for families and children has reduced by almost half, at 42%.

As early as 2016, the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) reported that we therefore waste £17 billion every year on late intervention services such as foster and residential care for children. And now 81% of all council spending on children’s services goes to late intervention.

Barnardo’s CEO, Lynn Perry, said:

while the government’s recent spending review recognized the importance of these services it did not pledge any additional funds for their development.

Profiting from austerity

Here, the toxic combination of austerity and privatisation rears its unsightly head. The top three firms providing foster care – all private equity owned – made combined profits of £40m in 2023. Where government spending is reduced, profiteering private services fill the space. And, children fall by the wayside.

It’s common sense that early intervention through children’s centres and family hubs, like Barnardo’s advocates for, is better than letting issues spiral out of control. That’s unless you want to make a buck out of those issues.

This can also be seen in Barnardo’s analysis. It found a high return on investment (ROI) for public spending on early intervention, at £3.82 for every £1 spent for the Cygnet parenting programme.

“Vital support”

Perry said:

Family hubs offer a safe, welcoming space where parents and children can access vital support. At their best, these centres are a local ‘nerve centre’ – where parents can come for a ‘stay and play’ session, and in the same familiar and welcoming environment, receive help with breastfeeding, talk to a health visitor, receive support with speech and language, attend a parenting course, and even access highly specialist help with issues such as domestic abuse and substance abuse, for those who need it.

Evidence also shows that family hubs, by getting to families with support before they reach crisis point, also have a long-term financial benefit to the country.

Barnardo’s further notes that the number of children in poverty has risen to 4.5 million, or 31% of the total number of children.

The charity points to a ‘postcode lottery’ of support with the number of family hubs greatly varying p29 depending on where a person lives. The Tory cuts meant p28 that there was a 37% drop in the number of family hubs and children centres as of 2024.

Meanwhile, Labour has kicked its child poverty strategy into the long grass, rather than providing the issue with immediate attention. The austerity-era lives on.

Featured image via the Canary

By James Wright

This post was originally published on Canary.