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  • • Nearly half of children in care have a mental health disorder
  • • 4.2 million children in the UK are living in poverty
  • • Nearly half of children in care have a mental health disorder
  • • 1.4 million children & young people have a probable mental health disorder
  • • 1 in 5 babies aren’t receiving their entitled health visiting check at one year old
 

In reaction to the Chancellor’s Budget, CEOs from the Children’s Charities Coalition: Paul Carberry: Action for Children; Lynn Perry MBE: Barnardo’s; Mark Russell: The Children’s Society; Anna Feuchtwang: National Children’s Bureau; Sir Peter Wanless: NSPCC, said:

“Quality public services are what children and families need, and what the electorate wants. The Chancellor had a golden opportunity to show he understood this and address a crisis in childhoods, brought about by spiralling inequality and deepening levels of poverty and deprivation. Sadly, there were few measures in his Budget to help children who are in the most desperate need.

“We are particularly disappointed that our repeated calls for significant funding to rebuild children’s services have gone unheeded. The 2022 Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England called for £2.6billion of funding over four years, but we are still no further forward after today’s announcements.

“Ahead of the general election, we want to see all political parties commit to creating an ambitious cross-government strategy to drive improvements for babies, children and young people, backed by an undertaking to spend more of the nation’s wealth improving the lives of children and families. Today’s announcement fails to recognise the crisis facing many children across the country.”