‘Social inequalities’ pushing disproportionate amount of children into care in north of England, new report finds
One in every 52 children in Blackpool is in care compared with one in 140 across England, according to new analysis which researchers said exposes “deeply rooted social inequalities”.
The report also found 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, the analysis by the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said.
Professor David Taylor, the co-author of the report, said the findings reflect a “doom loop”, with poverty pushing children into the care system at an additional cost to local and national government.
He said: “Cuts to prevention services, things like Sure Start, family support, investment in youth services have been cut, particularly in the areas where they’re needed most.
“In those places poverty has gone up, that’s increased the number of children in the care system and it’s putting incredible pressure on health and care systems.”
The report was researched and funded by Health Equity North – an organisation focused on finding solutions to public health problems and health inequalities across the North of England. It used existing data including official statistics and academic studies.
The analysis also suggested the higher rates of children entering care are estimated to have cost the North at least £25bn more in the past four years.
In the light of the report’s findings, APPG members and the report authors have made a number of recommendations, including policies to reduce child poverty such as scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap, as well as more investment in prevention strategies such as targeting additional investment in the North.
‘A part of you ripped away’
One person who has benefited from this type of grassroots support, is Kirsty, a mother from Newcastle.
She became a mum at the age of 17. Her daughter was taken into care twice, in moments she described as “tragic”.
Kirsty had her daughter taken away from her twice
“I’ve been through a lot in my life, but losing a child is the most traumatic, unexplainable feeling that I could ever imagine,” she said.
“It’s like having a part of you ripped away, then not understanding and not feeling good enough.”
Kirsty previously struggled with a drug addiction and had been a victim of domestic abuse.
She was also previously homeless before eventually joining a narcotics anonymous group, and later being supported by Reform UK, an organisation in the area aimed at improving the outcomes of mothers at risk of child removal.
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Their work involves creating a “sisterhood” in the form of a safe space aimed at allowing women to share their experiences and finding them the right support for issues like addiction, domestic abuse and homelessness.
Reform’s chief executive Amy Van Zyl feels the social care system needs to be better equipped and better funded to help people with complex needs.
Amy Van Zyl says the social care system needs to be better equipped and better funded
She said: “Women who come to our service don’t have friends and loved ones. What they gain when they come into our service is friends and loved ones, we can then signpost them to services.”
Kirsty, who is speaking about her experiences at an event in Parliament on Wednesday, feels she could have benefited from early intervention.
She said: “If there was anything like Reform back then or anywhere else it would have made a massive difference.
“Because I felt like I was the only person, I felt like I not only failed me but I failed my family and I brought shame on everyone because I wasn’t able to look after my child and that wasn’t the case.
“All of the reports that were done by social services said that I was a good mum, and that I was really good with my daughter. It was just my lifestyle. I didn’t have accommodation and my drug use and all that stuff could have been helped. It’s curable.”
In response to the report, a Department for Education spokesperson said: “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.”
UK
Hundreds of NHS quangos to be axed – as plans unveiled for health funding to be linked to patient feedback
NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that “don’t listen” penalised with less money.
As part of the “10 Year Health Plan” to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received – and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not.
It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients “not being listened to”, the government said.
This will create a “powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients’ experience”, it added.
Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff.
NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new ‘Year of Care Payments’ initiative and the government’s wider plan for change.
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Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial.
He told the newspaper: “Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix.”
He said that NHS leaders would be keen to “understand more about the proposal”, because elements were “concerning”.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change.”
In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England – known as quangos – will be scrapped.
These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian’s Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).
The head of the Royal College of Nursing described the move as “so unsafe for patients right now”.
Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Today, in hospitals across the NHS, we know one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. It’s not safe. It’s not effective. And it’s not acceptable.
“For these proposed changes to be effective, government must take ownership of the real issue, the staffing crisis on our wards, and not just shuffle people into new roles. Protecting patients has to be the priority and not just a drive for efficiency.”
Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear “built to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience”.
“We’ve made it really hard, and we’ve probably all been on the end of it,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they’re busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning.”
A haul of cocaine worth nearly £100m has been seized at a UK port, authorities say.
The haul, weighing 2.4 tonnes, was found under containers on a ship arriving from Panama at London Gateway port in Thurrock, Essex.
It had been detected earlier this year after an intelligence-led operation but was intercepted as it arrived in the UK this week.
With the help of the port operator, 37 large containers were moved to uncover the drugs, worth an estimated £96m.
The haul is the sixth-largest cocaine seizure in UK history, according to Border Force.
Its maritime director Charlie Eastaugh said: “This seizure – one of the largest of its kind – is just one example of how dedicated Border Force maritime officers remain one step ahead of the criminal gangs who threaten our security.
“Our message to these criminals is clear – more than ever before, we are using intelligence and international law enforcement cooperation to disrupt and dismantle your operations.”
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Container ships are one of the main ways international gangs smuggle Class A drugs into the UK, Mr Eastaugh said.
Cocaine deaths in England and Wales increased by 31% between 2022 and 2023, according to the latest Home Office data.
Elsewhere this weekend, a separate haul of 170 kilos of ketamine, 4,000 MDMA pills, and 20 firearms were found on a lorry at Dover Port in Kent.
One of the 20 firearms found at Dover Port. Pic: NCA
Experts estimate the ketamine’s street value to be £4.5m, with the MDMA worth at least £40,000.
The driver of the lorry, a 34-year-old Tajikistan national, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of smuggling the items, the National Crime Agency said.
Sir Keir Starmer has said fixing the UK’s welfare system is a “moral imperative” after the government’s U-turn.
The prime minister faced a significant rebellion over plans to cut sickness and disability benefits as part of a package he said would shave £5bn off the welfare bill and get more people into work.
The government has since offered concessions ahead of a vote in the Commons on Tuesday, including exempting existing Personal Independence Payment claimants (PIP) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications.
Speaking at Welsh Labour’s annual conference in Llandudno, North Wales, on Saturday, Sir Keir said: “Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken, failing people every day.
“Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way, conference, and we will.”
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Starmer defends welfare U-turn
Sir Keir also warned of a “backroom stitch up” between the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru ahead of next year’s Senedd elections.
He said such a deal would mark a “return to the chaos and division of the last decade”.
But opposition parties have hit back at the prime minister’s “imaginary coalitions”, with Plaid Cymru accusing Labour of “scraping the barrel”.
Reform UK said the NHS “isn’t safe in Labour’s hands” and people are “left waiting in pain” while ministers “make excuses”.
Voters in Wales will head to the polls next May and recent polls suggest Labour are in third place, behind Reform and Plaid.
Labour have been the largest party at every Senedd election since devolution began in 1999.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the Senedd election.
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At the conference, the prime minister was joined on stage by Wales Secretary Jo Stevens, First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader of Welsh Labour Carolyn Harries.
He described Baroness Morgan as a “fierce champion for Wales” and “the best person to lead Wales into the future”.
Sir Keir said the £80m transition board to support Port Talbot steelworkers after the closure of the plant’s blast furnaces was a result of “two Labour governments working together for the people of Wales”.
He described Nigel Farage as a “wolf in Wall Street clothing” who has “no idea what he’s talking about” on the issue.
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The PM said the Reform UK leader “isn’t interested in Wales” and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.
“When you ask him about Clacton, he thinks he’s running in the 2.10 at Ascot,” Sir Keir joked.
“He’s a wolf in Wall Street clothing.”
Mr Farage has said his party wants to restart the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.
Around 20 tractors were parked on the promenade in Llandudno ahead of the speech, as farmers gathered outside the conference to stage a protest.
It was later followed by a pro-Palestine demonstration of around 200 people, with around a dozen counter-protestors also in attendance.
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