As well-off children are cosseted, we throw poorer kids to the wolves | Barbara Ellen

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Government cuts are a time bomb that can turn struggling youngsters into marginalised adults

When will Britain’s at-risk children finally be taken seriously – when they become big angry adults who can vote?

The charity Action for Children analysed recent official spending figures, finding that council budgets for early help services (to prevent families reaching crisis point) have shrunk by £743m in five years, amounting to more than a quarter of lost funds. Sure Start children’s centres have seen a £450m reduction in funding, with many councils choosing to save money by closing them altogether. It was also revealed that, while funding for England’s 73,000 children in care actually rose (10%), these children took half the national care budget, leaving what’s left to fund all the other children needing help in the country, resulting in many having to “fend for themselves”.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ooni3O

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