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“This report rightly highlights the key challenges facing education and children’s social care.

“Midwives, health visitors and Family Hubs all have a vital part to play in supporting families with children, including for early years, as this report states."

Two thirds of councils have not increased spending on youth services in the past five years, according to a new survey by the Local Government Association, highlighting the need for fresh investment in local grass-roots provision for young people.

“As this report recommends, the Government should consider introducing automatic enrolment for free school meals and expanding eligibility to tackle growing disparities, including for the Healthy Start scheme."

The number of children’s social workers employed by councils will need to increase by 13,000 - nearly a third - over the next decade as a result of growing need for the care and support of children and young people and to reduce increasing reliance on agency staff, new research by the Local Government Association forecasts today.

Latest figures released today show there are 83,630 children in the care of councils. The number of looked after children as of 31 March 2024 is 4.5 per cent higher than in 2020, according to annual Department for Education figures published this morning.

Care leavers should be exempt from paying for council tax, prescriptions, NHS dental treatment and optician costs, to help prevent them from falling into financial hardship when they leave care and support their transition to independence.

The number of investigations carried out by councils where a child is believed to be at risk of harm now amounts to on average over 600 every day, according to latest figures, showing why it is vital children’s social care is given emergency funding in the Autumn Budget.

Educational attainment amongst children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has not improved since the introduction of landmark reforms in 2014, despite councils projected to be spending £12bn on these services by 2026, up from £4bn a decade ago.

“It is concerning to see that many children are not receiving the timely care they need, which can have long-lasting effects on their health and development.