The final report from Anne Longfield’s Commission on Young Lives calls on the Government to lead the fight back through ‘Sure Start Plus’, a national plan to prevent teenagers becoming involved in criminal exploitation, gangs, and serious violence
The Commission’s report proposes a new ‘Sure Start Plus for Teenagers’ network of intervention and support as the centrepiece of a wide range of recommendations to government, the police, schools, and others to tackle the deep-rooted problems in the children’s social care, education, family support, children’s mental health, and criminal justice systems.
The Commission warns that the failure of these systems to protect some of the most vulnerable children is allowing criminals and abusers to groom thousands of young people in England into county lines, gangs, and criminal activity.
Government statistics published last week reveal that in 2021/22 there were over 16,000 instances in England where child sexual exploitation was identified by local authorities as a factor at the end of an assessment by social workers. There were 11,600 instances where gangs were a factor and 10,140 instances where Child Criminal Exploitation was a factor. These numbers are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. Those involved in gang activity and criminal exploitation are disproportionately young, vulnerable, and unknown to services. It has been estimated that there could be as many as 200,000 children in England aged 11 to 17 who are vulnerable to serious violence.
The report says there are already huge stresses on over-stretched services and the public purse due to a lack of early intervention, and that a combination of Covid, a cost-of-living crisis, and any return to austerity would be a gift to those who exploit children. Over the last year, the Commission has heard from multiple professionals working with vulnerable children that many of these problems have become more extreme since the pandemic, including the ages of those running gangs becoming even younger. It has also heard countless examples of children from suburban, middle-class England being groomed by criminals who have spotted a vulnerability and moved in with clinical ruthlessness.
The Commission proposes a new national action plan to protect those most at risk of exploitation and harm and to support all young people to leave education with improved life chances. This would mainstream some the positive work of Violence Reduction Units, who are working with agencies in some hotspot areas now.
Anne Longfield CBE, Chair of the Commission on Young Lives, said:
“There are parts of our country where the state is completely failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children from the ongoing epidemic of county lines, criminal exploitation, and serious violence. This is a problem hidden in plain sight, rocket-boosted by Covid, which is disproportionately affecting teenagers in deprived and minority ethnic communities and also some families living in leafy suburbs.
“It is a national threat to our country’s prosperity and security, a threat which is ruining lives and scarring communities, and which is costing the NHS, schools, the police and criminal justice system, and the children’s social care system billions of pounds every year.
“A combination of Covid, the cost of living crisis, a possible return to austerity, and the legacy of underfunded and overstretched service will only increase these existing pressures on many vulnerable families and children. It is a gift to those whose aim is to exploit children.
“This final report is our call to action. We are proposing a new national network called Sure Start Plus – a Sure Start for Teenagers. We believe it can offer a joined-up, national programme to enable local communities to protect and support teenagers at risk, as well as their families, and it can boost the life chances and educational prospects of children in England.
“After a decade of running-down early help programmes and youth services, a return to investing in children and their families is desperately needed. I make no excuse for arguing for a significant increase in funding for vulnerable children, or for arguing children and families should be placed at the heart of government policy making, whichever party is in power and whatever the economic circumstances. Investment now will save money and save lives in the future.
“Over the last decade of unprecedented change and turmoil in their lives, we have frequently taken our eye off the ball for young people, particularly the most vulnerable. It shows in the crises that so many are now facing.
“It is time to make amends and create a new environment that keeps children safe from exploitation and harm and which boosts the chances of success for every child.”
