Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, responding to a report by leading children’s charities showing how under-investment in children’s services has left them ill-prepared to cope with the impact of coronavirus, said:

“This devastating report confirms that ten years of cuts to children’s services have left them in no state to cope with the impact of Covid-19.

“Around two million children face increased risks in this crisis, from domestic abuse to online grooming, and we know that there will be a huge increase in demand for support when they return to school. Yet, as the report says, many of these children’s services have been decimated by over £2 billion of cuts.

“This must be a wake up call that we cannot keep slashing away at essential services like children’s social care. It is a false economy that puts children in harm’s way and stores up huge problems for later.”