One in every 52 children in Blackpool are in care, report finds

One in every 52 children in Blackpool are in care compared with one in 140 across England, leading to calls for more to be done to tackle the widening north-south divide brought on by “decades of underinvestment”.

Nine in every thousand children are in care in the north, compared with six in the rest of England, according to a report by Health Equity North.

A total of £25bn of public money would have been saved between 2019 and 2023 if the north had the same care entry rates as the south, the report’s authors said.

Child poverty was the main factor in the disproportionate figures, with the north-east having the highest overall care rates, followed by the north-west, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Blackpool was followed by Hartlepool, where the rate of children in care is one in 63.

The review of existing research, compiled for the child of the north all-party parliamentary group, found a 27% increase in the number of children’s homes between 2020 and 2023 disproportionately affected the north of England.

The north has 1,176 children’s homes – more than 40% of the children’s homes in England – with just 1,704 in the rest of England.

There were more than 83,000 children in care in England in 2023, with the report warning the risk of that number rising was high as health inequalities continued to widen and more and more families were falling into poverty, particularly in the north.

The rise in child poverty between 2015 and 2020 led to more than 10,000 additional children entering care – equivalent to one in 12 care entries over the period.

Dr Davara Bennett, the lead author of the report and head of public health, policy and systems at the University of Liverpool, said: “Our report has exposed the deeply rooted social inequalities reflected in, and exacerbated by, the child welfare system. These need to be tackled head-on by policymakers.”

Emma Lewell-Buck, the Labour MP for South Shields and co-chair of the child of the north group, said: “Excellent social work happens every single day, yet this report highlights how valuable opportunities to improve social care for both children, families and those who work with them are being ignored. Our children deserve better.”