One in every 52 children in Blackpool is in care as dire poverty levels and Tory benefits cuts push families to the brink, a grim report warns today.
Analysis by the Universal of Liverpool reveals disproportionately high rates of children in care in the north of England compared to the south, with a £25 billion bill placed on stretched services in the region. There were over 83,000 children in care in 2023 in England, which could rise higher due to health inequalities and poverty, particularly in the North, the report for the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said.
The north of England accounts for just over a quarter (28%) of the child population, but more than a third (36%) of the children in care. Some 93 per 10,000 children in the North were in the care system, compared to 62 in the rest of England.
The North East in particular has the highest overall care rates, followed by the North West, West Midlands and then Yorkshire and the Humber. Extreme outliers include Blackpool where one in every 52 children is in care. The Lancashire town suffers persistently high levels of deprivation, thanks in part to shortages of affordable housing and low wages.
Blackpool, in Lancashire, is an outlier in terms of the number of children in care (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Other hard hit areas include Hartlepool, in the North East, where the figure is one in 63, and North East Lincolnshire, where it is one in 57. This compared with one in every 278 for Hertfordshire and one in every 256 for Buckinghamshire, the report found.
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It estimated that if the north had experienced the same lower care entry rates as the south between 2019 and 2023, it would have saved at least £25 billion in lifetime costs. Researchers warned that persistent poverty levels are a major driver of pushing children into the care system as hardship affects parents’ ability to cope, heightening stress, poor mental health, conflict, and vulnerability to domestic abuse.
Soaring child poverty levels between 2015 and 2020, largely due to cuts to welfare benefits, disproportionately affected the North of England, the report said. More than 10,000 additional children in England are estimated to have gone into the care system due to the rise in child poverty, it added.
Lead author Dr Davara Bennett 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. Local authorities are trapped in a cycle of ever-greater spend on children in care, at the expense of investment in effective support for families in need. The evidence shows the damage caused by cuts to prevention and failure to address the very real problem of child poverty in the North.”
Higher rates of children entering care are estimated to have cost the North at least £25billion more over the past four years, with children's homes disproportionately concentrated in the North West. Decades of under-investment in the North have "hollowed out preventative services, increased rates of children in care and undermined foster care provision, leaving local authorities at the mercy of the private residential care providers," the report said.
South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck, who co-chairs the Child of the North APPG, said: “As a former social worker, I have experienced first hand the immense pressure placed on children’s services in the north. When children and families aren’t given the right support the consequences and damage done can last a lifetime.
"In my region specifically, shameful levels of poverty coupled with underinvestment has led to dramatically disproportionate rises in the number of children in care, compared to the south. 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.”
The group urged the Government to crack down on child poverty by scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap and target more investment in the North. The Government has been contacted for comment.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Every child deserves to live in a safe and stable home and we are committed to helping children and families overcome multiple and complex needs at an early stage, so they can stay together and thrive.
“Early intervention is at the core of our ambitious children's social care reforms - including a £45m investment in pilot areas across the UK to help us shape a future system where we provide families with the right support at the right time, delivered by the right people.
“For those leaving care, we are investing £250m over three years to help them succeed - providing housing, access to education, employment, and training.”
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