Claims that children are more likely to end up in care in the north than the south
Stats show 1 in every 52 children in Blackpool is in care, compared with 140 nationally
Last updated 17th Apr 2024
It's been claimed that children are more likely to end up in the care system in the north, than they are in the south.
Stats show one in every 52 children in Blackpool is in care compared with one in 140 across England.
A new analysis, carried out by a researcher at the University of Liverpool, claims there are "deeply rooted social inequalities" in a north-south divide.
The north of England accounts for just over a quarter (28%) of the child population, but more than a third (36%) of the children in care, the analysis for the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said.
The report's lead author, Dr Davara Bennett said the findings show "the damage caused by cuts to prevention and failure to address the very real problem of child poverty in the North".
The authors said that in Blackpool, in the North West, one in every 52 children is in care and in Hartlepool, in the North East, the figure is one in 63.
This compared with one in every 278 for Hertfordshire in the east of England and one in every 256 for Buckinghamshire in the South East of the country, they said.
The higher rates of children entering care are estimated to have cost the North at least £25 billion more in the past four years, the report said.
The report was researched and funded by Health Equity North - an organisation which said it is focused on finding solutions to public health problems and health inequalities across the north of England, and used existing data including official statistics and academic studies.
It said the North West alone accounts for more than a quarter of children's homes and close to a quarter of children's home places.
This greater provision in the North "comes at an economic cost", the researchers said, adding that children living in care homes generally need high levels of support from health, welfare, education, justice, and children's services.
The report stated: "Decades of under-investment in the North have hollowed out preventative services, increased rates of children in care and undermined foster care provision, leaving local authorities at the mercy of the private residential care providers."
It also said the location of children's homes "compounds challenges in accessing quality education for children in care" with homes often built where housing costs are low, and "a correlation between property prices and school quality".
The report added: "This means children in care are more likely to live in economically deprived areas and attend lower quality schools."