So say the heads of 120 voluntary and statutory organisations providing children’s health, education and social care services in a joint open letter to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Anna Feuchtwang, Chair of End Child Poverty and Chief Executive of the National Children’s Bureau, who is one of the signatories, is quoted in the Guardian as saying that services once taken for granted, such as family support, children’s centres and respite care for families with disabled children, have become “the privilege of the few” and that essential lifelines have been “cut to the bone”.
It is hard to argue with such a wide range of informed and expert opinion. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor need to take this letter very seriously. Children’s services are at breaking point. If they are allowed to collapse, the consequences for many children and young people will be dire.
Any politicians who allow that to happen will not be easily forgiven.
