Urgent Action Needed, due to rise in Child Neglect

Urgent Action Needed, due to rise in UK Child Neglect

The UK has seen a 60% increase in reports related to child neglect over the past five years. Almost nine out of ten of these are serious enough to be referred to social services or the police.

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The UK has seen a 60% increase in reports related to child neglect over the past five years. Almost nine out of ten of these are serious enough to be referred to social services or the police.

Over the past year there have been almost 19,500 calls reporting child neglect which have been dealt with by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The charity stated that they had seen an increase in calls from people concerned about children being at home, unsupervised by parents struggling with alcohol or drug use. Some of these children were under the age of 5.

However, the charity has warned that that this issue could actually be far worse than what is currently being perceived and they are urging the government to take action in the form of a national study that will help measure the extent of the problem.

The NSPCC chief executive, Peter Wanless, has said: “Neglect can have severe and long-lasting consequences for children, and can also be an indicator of other forms of abuse … It is vital we understand the true nature and scale of child neglect in the UK so we can collectively tackle the fundamental causes”.

In 2016-17, the NSPCC received 19,448 reports of child neglect. This was a 61% increase compared to the 12,110 they received in 2011-12 suggesting just how prominent this issue is.

With this information in mind, The Department for Education (DfE) has been running a campaign in order to encourage more people to report instances of child abuse and neglect. The DfE has stated that the government was investing £8m in the Childline service and giving an additional £20m to the National Crime Agency to help try and combat online child sexual exploitation.

A spokeswoman for the DfE has commented: “We are helping to make sure people feel confident about reporting abuse and neglect through our national awareness campaign and are improving the way the police, social services and other agencies work together to keep children safe.” However, the charity Action for Children have released a report suggesting that there are tens of thousands of children that are being failed by local authorities in England.

Kate Mulley, the director of policy and campaigns for Action for Children has quoted “The government simply cannot continue asking local authorities to provide children’s services with one hand tied behind their back. Savings targets have left them with little option but to close family support services that are proven to spot and address the signs of neglect before it’s too late.”

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