Research shows that last year, total spending on children from the main government departments that spend money on children (excluding healthcare) was over £120bn, or £10,000 per child under 18. This is 42 per cent higher (in real terms) than it was in 2000/1, but 10 per cent below its high point of £11,300 in 2010/11. Current public spending on children is due to remain at about £10,000 per child until 2019/20, the same level in real terms as it was in 2006/07.

The report does, however, identify a 60 per cent cut in Sure Start and youth services that is sure to see an increasing number of vulnerable children fall through the gaps; hundreds of thousands of children in England living with high risks, with futures already in jeopardy – children with poor mental health, children living in poor housing, living with domestic violence or substance abuse in the house, in and out of school, homeless, sometimes in jail.

The reason vulnerable children are being so affected by the austerity that has come to define the current age is that money is being spent on fighting fires rather than preventing fires.

The Children’s Commissioner’s report notes a significant reorientation of spending on children’s services, saying:

This change is noteworthy as the areas where spending has increased (Looked After Children and Safeguarding) are generally high-cost, responsive and statutory duties, whilst areas that have seen falls in spending are those that are discretionary and more likely to be preventative. Given the overall squeeze on budgets, local authorities may have had little choice but to cut funding on non-statutory services. However, this could also store up problems for the future. Existing evidence already suggests that children with the most complex needs tend to come into care at a later age, and subsequently have the most costly care pathways (Ward et al., 2008), whilst many preventative services tend to be lower cost in the long run (Beecham and Sinclair, 2007). Thus, the reduction in spending on programmes such as Sure Start and young people’s services could push up costs in the long run.

Mainstream and acute services such as age 4-16 education and provision for children in care have been protected at the expense of targeted preventative services, removing vital safety nets for some very vulnerable children….

…who are falling through a broadening chasm (never mind gap) as we speak.

Perhaps there should be a shift in focus, from the amount being spent to what it is being spent on?

The Children’s Commissioner advocates the importance of long-term decision-making and purposeful and well thought-through preventative services as a helping hand for vulnerable children – looking hard at which services are working well for children and which others are passing them by.

And as for Kids Matter, a parenting intervention that hopes to strengthen families before children and parents reach crisis point, our hope is that whilst policy makers debate money and policy, the church will step in to fill the gap. We hope that through partnering with us, churches will raise volunteers to take our parenting programme into local communities in an effort to support families; to give mums, dads and caregivers the tools to build strong relationships with their children.

There is desperate need and lots of talk…

…is this where it ends?

To find out more about our parenting programme, please contact us at info@kidsmatter.org.uk