We have abandoned our vulnerable children

For 14 years, the Conservative government has shown no interest in the lives of young people in difficulty

James Munby’s heartfelt plea for suitable accommodation for children at serious risk to themselves or others (“Judges are sick of locking up children who just need help”), alongside the report that the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are turning away children at risk of suicide (“Suicide-risk children refused places on NHS England waiting lists as services overwhelmed”), highlights once again that, since 2010, the Conservative government has displayed a total lack of interest in the needs of children who are experiencing difficulty.

Sure Start scrapped, youth services nonexistent, residential care in the hands of profit-seekers, levels of child mental ill health way beyond CAMHS’ ability to cope, special educational needs unmet, funding to voluntary organisations drastically cut, child poverty increased, and the recommendations of the government’s own review of children’s social care ignored. The list goes on, while the general wellbeing of the UK’s children continues to rank below the European average.