Shock level of abuse on youngsters
MORE than half a million under-fives are suffering neglect, trauma or abuse, a key group of ministers will hear.
The group, chaired by Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, will be told the Government’s current failure to protect the very young will ultimately cost the public purse £16.6billion due to increased risk of “crime, anti-social behaviour and youth inactivity”.
High-profile cases such as Baby P, who died in 2007 aged 17 months after suffering more than 50 injuries, threw the spotlight on the hidden suffering of youngsters at the hands of family members.
However the ministers will be given evidence showing as many as 690,000 children aged under five are at risk of mental or physical harm or abuse in “toxic homes” – in ways which can also manifest more insidiously.
This includes physical, emotional, sexual or verbal abuse, neglect, as well as witnessing domestic violence or living with parents or carers who are mentally ill or addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Despite this, the ministers will be told local authority spending on early intervention fell by £1.4billion between 2011 and 2016. The group, including Mental Health Secretary Jackie Doyle-Price and Children and Families Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, have been tasked with improving the mental health of vulnerable youngsters until the age of two. But tens of thousands of these children are being affected by local authority cuts.
The evidence from a Commons Science and Technology Committee report shows council budgets for early intervention services shrank by £743million – more than a quarter – over five years. It means one in five children does not receive health visitor checks in their first twoand a half years – a barrier to identifying those at risk.
Other cuts include a £450million reduction in Sure Start budgets.
Report chairman Norman Lamb MP said: “We ask the ministerial group to consider our report to address childhood adversity; transforming lives for the better and saving taxpayers’ money.”
Emma Thomas, chief executive of YoungMinds, said: “We need to get much better at identifying when ‘difficult’ behaviour may be a reaction to a traumatic event or a sign of emotional distress. We must ensure professionals know what behaviours may be related to trauma and how to support them.”
The Government has rejected the group’s call for centralised strategy, stating it will let local authorities address the issue.