Children’s Commissioner highlights ‘postcode lottery’ in social care support

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza has warned that children are being “radically failed” in some parts of England, highlighting major regional disparities in social care, including high levels of social worker instability and children being placed far from home.

In The Childhood Lottery, the Commissioner brings together more than 160 measures covering education, health, social care, housing, safety and children’s opportunities to examine how childhood experiences vary across England.

The report identifies stark differences in children’s access to support, arguing that where they grow up can shape their life chances. De Souza has called on the government to use the move towards devolution to address these inequalities, including through minimum standards for children’s outcomes, a national fund for areas falling below those standards and the appointment of a Deputy Mayor for Children in every strategic authority.

In her speech launching the report, de Souza said: “In some communities, these challenges amount to nothing less than a state of emergency. Not for every child. Not everywhere. But what we see here is a litany of failure. In so many local authorities, on individual areas or multiple, children are being radically failed.”

The report’s findings on children’s social care highlight differences in the stability of support children receive. In 2025, 24% of looked-after children experienced three or more social workers within a year, according to data from 152 local authorities.

The proportion varied substantially between areas. In Tameside, half of looked-after children had three or more social workers during the year, compared with 3% in Hartlepool.

The report says: “It is not acceptable that a looked after child in Tameside is more likely to experience a fragmented approach to support, where they are less likely to build trusting relationships which allow them have their wishes and feelings heard and reflected in social work decisions, simply because of where they live.”

The findings raise concerns about the impact of repeated changes in social worker on children’s ability to build trusting relationships and have their wishes and feelings reflected in decisions about their lives.

The report also highlights the prevalence of out-of-area placements, which can disrupt children’s relationships with family members, siblings and friends, as well as their education.

Even in the local authorities with the lowest rates, North Lincolnshire and Lancashire, 17% and 18% of children respectively were placed out of area. Elsewhere, the proportion exceeded one in five children wherever data was available, reaching 89% in Westminster.

The Commissioner acknowledges that local areas face different structural challenges, including limited housing options in urban areas and a shortage of specialist or secure placements for children with complex needs in parts of the Midlands. However, the report stresses the importance of maintaining stability in children’s lives wherever it is safe and possible.

It also identifies substantial differences in the number of children receiving support through Child in Need plans. Hartlepool had one of the highest rates, at 636 children per 10,000, compared with 178 per 10,000 in Essex. The report notes that these figures may reflect both the level of need in an area and the thresholds local authorities use to identify children requiring support.

De Souza said the inequalities identified by the research were not simply the result of individual services performing differently, but reflected wider systemic problems.

“The problems I have identified are not just at a service level – though sometimes they are – they are utterly systemic. The system change that devolution represents is a unique chance to remove the extreme inequality and unfairness I have found.”

She called for central government support to help local areas raise standards across health, social care, housing and communities, with urgent action where outcomes fall below an agreed level.

The report also highlights inequalities in children’s mental health support. More than one million children had active referrals to children and young people’s mental health services in 2024-25, while median waits from referral to second contact ranged from six days in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to 118 days in Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

In her speech, de Souza highlighted differences in access to Mental Health Support Teams in schools. She said a child living in Leicestershire might be among the roughly three-quarters of children not covered by the teams, while a child in South Tyneside would be likely to be among the 99% who have access.

She argued that some services should be universally available, adding: “Given national concern around child and adolescent mental health, mental health support in schools is one of these services.”

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) said the report raised valid concerns but did not fully account for the different circumstances facing local authorities or recognise sufficiently the work of public services supporting children and families.

Ann Graham, ADCS president, said: “While this new report raises valid concerns about childhood experiences and how children’s outcomes can vary depending on where they live, it does not fully account for the real differences between local authorities and local contexts.”

She added: “The result is an unfavourable picture of public services which does not sufficiently recognise the best efforts of so many people in children’s services, and beyond, working hard to support families and improve children’s lives, often with limited resources. I want to thank them now for their commitment to children and to the communities they serve. As the report says, rewiring the state may present a real opportunity to deliver better outcomes for children but guardrails must be put in place to protect services that are already helping children to live fulfilling lives across the country.”

Graham said poverty was central to many of the challenges facing children and families and called for sustained investment rather than short-term funding.

“It is clear that poverty sits at the heart of many of the challenges facing children and families today and it will take years to resolve many of these issues. That is why long-term, sustainable funding is needed rather than short-term emergency investment to make a lasting difference to children’s lives and to their outcomes.”

The Commissioner’s recommendations include requiring strategic authorities to assess the impact of their policies on children, with outcomes covering issues such as housing, safety and access to employment. Deputy Mayors for Children or designated leads would be responsible for coordinating services and reporting annually on progress.

De Souza said devolution offered an opportunity to change how public services work together, but that greater funding must be accompanied by accountability.

“More money needs more accountability, and so I have recommended that areas should have Deputy Mayors for Children to ensure there is a named person, accountable for outcomes, and service delivery.”

She said the data described the current situation rather than an inevitable future, adding: “It can be better. It must be better. We can provide the services, set the baselines, expect the excellence.”