The Independent Care Review said Scotland must make intensive family support available to all who need it. These research findings show the scale of the challenge in making that a reality, while the often upsetting testimony here underlines why it must be done.
The coronavirus pandemic has raised awareness of social inequality in Scotland and its impact on children. But, of course, what it has revealed is not new: this report describes the destitution, isolation and mental health struggles which existed in Scotland in 2019, before the pandemic hit. This crisis has simply laid bare the extreme inequality in children’s life circumstances.
This follow-up to our 2014 study looks at the impact of six more years of austerity policies on children and families. By tracking services over time, it has found escalating need for help from families struggling with more complex problems, being met by fewer resources than before. It also highlights a situation in which all the different parts of the system can inadvertently work to compound people’s problems, and where lack of money puts people in an especially vulnerable place, exacerbating all the risks.
A decade of austerity had hit children’s services before the pandemic, affecting children’s access to social work and social care services. This research shows that the worsening financial position for local authorities, described by Audit Scotland, is creating situations in which practice in relation to families in need is driven by resources.