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  • • Nearly half of children in care have a mental health disorder
  • • 4.3 million children in the UK are living in poverty
  • • Nearly half of children in care have a mental health disorder
  • • 1.4 million children & young people have a probable mental health disorder
  • • 1 in 5 babies aren’t receiving their entitled health visiting check at one year old

Responding to yesterday’s announcement from the Prime Minister on his ‘missions’ for Goverment, the Children’s Charities Coalition – Action for Children, Barnardo’s, the National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, and The Children’s Society – said:

We warmly welcome the prioritisation given to children and young people in Keir Starmer’s ‘missions’ for Government. The ambition to ensure more children have reached a good level of academic, social and emotional development by the time they start school is good news. The additional £2bn of funding for education previously announced will go some way to achieve this.

However, improving children’s lives and breaking down barriers to opportunity requires significant investment beyond education, including in mental health support, social care, early help and implementing an effective strategy to tackle child poverty. While the government has signalled its intent to invest in these areas and has promised to better join up family services, there are currently no measurable milestones set out aside from school readiness.

The Children’s Charities Coalition is committed to working across government departments to ensure that its ‘breaking down barriers to opportunity’ mission meaningfully engages with children and their families. We hope that this mission-led government will be able to deliver on its promise of change for all children.