Pro Bono Economics – Written evidence (PSC0076)
To contribute to your inquiry into the funding of children’s services, Pro Bono Economics has conducted new research into the changes to children’s services funding that have been made over the past decade. In particular, we have undertaken analysis of how changes to early intervention spending on children’s services by local authorities – including children’s centres, family support services and services for young people – have developed across the country.
Over the last decade, real terms spending on early intervention services by local authorities has declined by 48%. However, those cuts have played out unevenly across the country. A wide variety of factors have contributed to this, which can lead to major differences from one local authority to another. In Milton Keynes, for example, spending on early intervention services has fallen 47% over the last decade, while next door in Bedford spending has fallen by just 2%. But there are also notable trends that indicate that children in areas of greatest disadvantage and deprivation have experienced greater cuts to these early intervention services than those children in areas of lower disadvantage.
Areas with the highest levels of child poverty have experienced the most significant cuts to early intervention services
In the parts of the country where child poverty is most widespread, cuts to the per-child spend on early intervention services have been double the size of cuts in areas with the lowest levels of child poverty.
Spending on early intervention services in the areas of England with the highest levels of child poverty fell by £766 million between 2010 and 2019, a real terms reduction of 53%. This halving of spend resulted in an average per-child reduction of £141 in the areas where child poverty is highest. In areas of England with the lowest levels of child poverty, spending on early intervention services reduced by £182 million or 38% over that period, an average per-child reduction of £61.
The largest cuts to early intervention services have been made in the most deprived areas of the country
On average, early intervention spending has declined the most in the areas of the country which experience the highest levels of deprivation. Average early intervention spending in the most deprived local authorities decreased from £291 per young person in 2010-11 to £118 per young person in 2019-20 – a 59% reduction. Manchester, for example, has some of the highest levels of deprivation anywhere in England. Spending on early intervention services in Manchester fell by 75% over the decade. In Liverpool, which is also among England’s most deprived areas, spending fell 65%.
While the least deprived local authorities tend to spend less on preventative measures per young person, they have been able to protect that spending to a greater extent, with an average reduction of 38% from £142 per young person in 2010-11 to £88 per young person in 2019-20. For example, in York which has much lower of deprivation, overall spend on early intervention children’s services fell by just 3% over the decade, while in Surrey it fell by 10%. Buckinghamshire and Rutland local authorities increased their spending on early intervention services between 2010 and 2019.
There have been concerns raised about the scale of cuts in themselves, but most concerning is the risk of a vicious circle affecting both children’s outcomes and the public purse. Without preventative measures achieved through early intervention services, the number of young people and families that go on to develop more severe difficulties is likely to increase. This will drive up the demand for late intervention services, such as care placements.
The supply constraints that already exist in the market providing late intervention services are likely to be further exacerbated, leading to further cost increases for local authorities. These supply constraints are likely to have contributed to the increase in the costs of these scarce placements over the period, with the average cost per Looked After Child increasing by £11,000 per year, from £53,000 in 2010-11 to £64,000 in 2019-20. If this continues unabated, it will add further pressure to local authority budgets, leading to further reductions in budgets for preventative measures and subsequently a further worsening of outcomes. The impacts of this may not just be limited to local authority budgets but potentially have further implications for demands in health services, benefits and the wider criminal justice system too.
That this vicious circle is playing out particularly acutely within the areas of the country with the highest levels of child poverty and deprivation should concern both those that are invested in children’s outcomes and in the efficiency of public expenditure.
1 September 2021
Pro Bono Economics: Early Intervention Spending in real terms
|
| Change 2010/11- 2019/20 (£)
| Change 2010/1 1- 2019/2 0 (%) |
Local authority | Region |
|
|
Barking and Dagenham | London | -£8,915,409.92 | -45% |
Barnet | London | -£8,530,009.03 | -35% |
Barnsley | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£24,494,114.11 | -73% |
Bath and North East Somerset | South West | -£3,170,456.30 | -38% |
Bedford Borough | East of England | -£148,605.60 | -2% |
Bexley | London | -£9,175,854.83 | -57% |
Birmingham | West Midlands | -£51,958,363.80 | -65% |
Blackburn with Darwen | North West | -£9,079,784.38 | -55% |
Blackpool | North West | -£3,885,365.42 | -39% |
Bolton | North West | -£15,073,268.83 | -57% |
Bournemouth | South West |
|
|
Bracknell Forest | South East | -£2,367,542.36 | -35% |
Bradford | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£33,358,577.92 | -64% |
Brent | London | -£19,129,618.95 | -66% |
Brighton and Hove | South East | -£5,623,494.08 | -36% |
Bristol City of | South West | -£3,021,499.27 | -13% |
Bromley | London | -£6,324,256.74 | -53% |
Buckinghamshire | South East | £623,053.32 | 4% |
Bury | North West | -£11,059,721.34 | -75% |
Calderdale | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£3,019,163.17 | -20% |
Cambridgeshire | East of England | £14,176,525.05 | 162% |
Camden | London | £3,036,836.31 | 16% |
Central Bedfordshire | East of England | -£3,872,272.52 | -31% |
Cheshire East | North West | -£5,970,333.65 | -36% |
Cheshire West and Chester | North West | -£2,376,303.15 | -19% |
City of London | London | -£156,216.77 | -8% |
Cornwall | South West | -£8,177,556.39 | -23% |
Coventry | West Midlands | -£11,015,618.39 | -58% |
Croydon | London | -£1,459,973.58 | -5% |
Cumbria | North West | -£4,365,756.00 | -17% |
Darlington | North East | -£3,480,367.78 | -51% |
Derby | East Midlands | -£13,699,743.60 | -55% |
Derbyshire | East Midlands | -£41,205,434.88 | -72% |
Devon | South West | -£11,681,380.08 | -32% |
Doncaster | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£12,786,203.36 | -55% |
Dorset | South West | -£11,477,677.04 | -47% |
Dudley | West Midlands | -£13,474,768.79 | -60% |
Durham | North East | -£27,152,485.92 | -66% |
Ealing | London | -£22,583,666.66 | -71% |
East Riding of Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£4,865,946.42 | -26% |
East Sussex | South East | -£304,096.79 | -2% |
Enfield | London | -£13,083,819.57 | -54% |
Essex | East of England | -£53,513,544.11 | -59% |
Gateshead | North East | -£8,279,373.47 | -58% |
Gloucestershire | South West | -£13,700,744.45 | -41% |
Greenwich | London | -£21,997,953.11 | -66% |
Hackney | London | -£13,342,470.10 | -33% |
Halton | North West | -£9,482,488.07 | -58% |
Hammersmith and Fulham | London | -£2,465,998.61 | -17% |
Hampshire | South East | -£38,336,244.69 | -69% |
Haringey | London | -£14,001,419.26 | -57% |
Harrow | London | -£1,863,655.77 | -17% |
Hartlepool | North East | -£7,086,414.28 | -61% |
Havering | London | -£6,498,846.14 | -53% |
Herefordshire | West Midlands | -£10,357,282.94 | -77% |
Hertfordshire | East of England | -£50,160,664.41 | -55% |
Hillingdon | London | -£4,782,466.29 | -33% |
Hounslow | London | -£7,655,084.12 | -48% |
Isle of Wight | South East | -£6,539,437.94 | -74% |
Isles Of Scilly | South West | -£252,011.38 | -77% |
Islington | London | -£13,861,662.86 | -41% |
Kensington and Chelsea | London | -£5,224,135.06 | -41% |
Kent | South East | -£37,784,026.71 | -52% |
Kingston upon Hull City of | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£13,568,354.39 | -49% |
Kingston upon Thames | London | -£769,932.17 | -9% |
Kirklees | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£20,320,003.51 | -53% |
Knowsley | North West | -£4,846,946.83 | -37% |
Lambeth | London | -£12,370,408.60 | -45% |
Lancashire | North West | -£60,740,261.26 | -57% |
Leeds | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£40,261,312.02 | -59% |
Leicester | East Midlands | -£24,041,844.19 | -66% |
Leicestershire | East Midlands | -£10,567,191.32 | -39% |
Lewisham | London | £3,073,168.94 | 28% |
Lincolnshire | East Midlands | -£19,297,319.24 | -46% |
Liverpool | North West | -£26,873,345.87 | -65% |
Luton | East of England | -£6,998,725.03 | -46% |
Manchester | North West | -£50,709,941.47 | -75% |
Medway | South East | -£11,734,508.85 | -60% |
Merton | London | -£2,482,396.42 | -25% |
Middlesbrough | North East | -£11,246,309.99 | -64% |
Milton Keynes | South East | -£9,011,009.43 | -47% |
Newcastle upon Tyne | North East | -£14,740,472.46 | -53% |
Newham | London | -£16,027,838.39 | -47% |
Norfolk | East of England | -£9,343,448.29 | -23% |
North East Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£5,775,545.82 | -31% |
North Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£5,099,989.82 | -37% |
North Somerset | South West | -£2,175,142.04 | -25% |
North Tyneside | North East | -£6,192,661.71 | -50% |
North Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£11,421,489.78 | -37% |
Northamptonshire | East Midlands | -£13,686,973.82 | -75% |
Northumberland | North East | -£13,355,726.53 | -56% |
Nottingham | East Midlands | -£16,980,406.57 | -59% |
Nottinghamshire | East Midlands | -£12,660,675.90 | -27% |
Oldham | North West | £2,830,455.41 | 23% |
Oxfordshire | South East | -£17,926,844.45 | -49% |
Peterborough | East of England | £6,901,562.92 | 121% |
Plymouth | South West | -£7,486,491.76 | -39% |
Poole | South West |
|
|
Portsmouth | South East | -£9,453,987.94 | -58% |
Reading | South East | -£6,778,999.49 | -57% |
Redbridge | London | -£8,122,675.44 | -57% |
Redcar and Cleveland | North East | -£9,261,194.97 | -56% |
Richmond upon Thames | London | -£3,164,812.00 | -29% |
Rochdale | North West | -£9,729,027.33 | -49% |
Rotherham | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£753,295.46 | -6% |
Rutland | East Midlands | £242,192.57 | 13% |
Salford | North West | £4,888,961.77 | 145% |
Sandwell | West Midlands | -£15,847,587.05 | -69% |
Sefton | North West | -£8,522,410.36 | -41% |
Sheffield | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£18,722,664.02 | -41% |
Shropshire | West Midlands | -£10,196,843.95 | -70% |
Slough | South East | -£5,661,750.91 | -58% |
Solihull | West Midlands | -£6,287,781.21 | -48% |
Somerset | South West | -£13,891,985.57 | -60% |
South Gloucestershire | South West | -£5,791,033.44 | -45% |
South Tyneside | North East | -£6,969,442.54 | -58% |
Southampton | South East | -£5,591,833.72 | -36% |
Southend-on-Sea | East of England | -£2,870,506.23 | -31% |
Southwark | London | -£19,920,313.07 | -64% |
St Helens | North West | -£9,089,358.02 | -59% |
Staffordshire | West Midlands | -£25,380,449.97 | -70% |
Stockport | North West | -£11,737,136.13 | -56% |
Stockton-on-Tees | North East | -£6,705,601.52 | -54% |
Stoke-on-Trent | West Midlands | -£20,290,613.00 | -77% |
Suffolk | East of England | -£10,215,195.46 | -36% |
Sunderland | North East | -£16,696,025.00 | -83% |
Surrey | South East | -£4,086,754.51 | -10% |
Sutton | London | -£11,312,995.06 | -72% |
Swindon | South West | -£9,175,760.97 | -76% |
Tameside | North West | -£16,570,956.51 | -56% |
Telford and Wrekin | West Midlands | -£3,237,493.93 | -32% |
Thurrock | East of England | -£11,184,041.09 | -54% |
Torbay | South West | -£4,121,623.06 | -45% |
Tower Hamlets | London | -£33,640,685.20 | -63% |
Trafford | North West | -£9,172,835.23 | -65% |
Wakefield | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£18,133,117.15 | -59% |
Walsall | West Midlands | -£22,645,395.66 | -81% |
Waltham Forest | London | -£4,311,880.51 | -25% |
Wandsworth | London | -£8,235,288.89 | -35% |
Warrington | North West | -£7,161,863.04 | -55% |
Warwickshire | West Midlands | -£8,173,851.62 | -34% |
West Berkshire | South East | -£6,313,865.11 | -63% |
West Sussex | South East | -£12,718,992.16 | -33% |
Westminster | London | -£11,341,960.71 | -68% |
Wigan | North West | -£13,981,863.67 | -54% |
Wiltshire | South West | £5,301,218.24 | 62% |
Windsor and Maidenhead | South East | -£2,428,848.41 | -32% |
Wirral | North West | -£11,431,030.56 | -43% |
Wokingham | South East | -£920,118.88 | -24% |
Wolverhampton | West Midlands | -£10,914,141.68 | -54% |
Worcestershire | West Midlands | -£18,452,412.22 | -61% |
York | Yorkshire and the Humber | -£185,043.24 | -3% |
Total |
| - £1,731,447,502 .47 | -48% |