The Observer view on Britain’s shamefully inadequate children’s services | Observer editorial

Cash-starved councils are being forced to cut the early interventions that might keep vulnerable children out of care

For decades, local councils have been responsible for maintaining the safety net of last resort for those most susceptible to falling through the cracks. Vulnerable children at risk of neglect or abuse, older people who can't afford care, adults with disabilities, the homeless: all rely on local, rather than central, government for support. When councils fail in their responsibilities, the consequences can be horrific. Who can forget Baby P, the toddler who, among other injuries, suffered a broken back, a fractured shinbone and a ripped ear before he died at the hands of his carers in 2007? Or Victoria Climbii(C), subject to months of torture then murder in 2000?

The Observer is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, founded in 1791. It is published by Guardian News & Media and is editorially independent.

Nearly a third of councils now say that funding children's social care is their most pressing concern

Austerity has ravaged the network of children's centres that the Labour government set up to support families

Continue reading...