Children's services in 'state of emergency', England's commissioner warns

Childhood Lottery report finds mental health, education and safety gaps that deprivation alone cannot explain

By LineZotpaper

Published19 October 2026

Read Time3 min

England's children's services are in a "state of emergency" and young people face extreme inequality depending on where they live, according to a major new report. Children's Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza's Childhood Lottery study analysed a hundred metrics across health and social care, education, safety and play, and called for minimum standards and an emergency fund for children's services.

Children's Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza examined a hundred measures covering health and social care, education, safety and play, and concluded that a "postcode lottery" has produced a "litany of failures" for children. She described services as being in a "state of emergency" and wrote in the report that she could not see the status quo as "anything less than a national emergency".

The report found that more than one million children were referred to mental health services in 2024-25, that 55% of children do not achieve a good standard in English and maths GCSEs, that a million people aged 16-24 in the UK are not in employment, education or training, and that 12% of children said they did not feel safe in their local area.

Differences between areas were stark. Referral for a mental health assessment took six days in Leicester but 118 days in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. In Richmond upon Thames, 70% of children achieved good grades in English and maths GCSEs, compared with 31% in Knowsley. Four local council areas spent nothing per teenager on youth services. Middlesbrough, Hounslow, Bradford, Nottingham, Liverpool and Sunderland were among the hardest places to grow up, while Cheshire East, Merton, Surrey, Richmond upon Thames and Hertfordshire were ranked the least challenging.

Deprivation alone did not explain the pattern, the report found. Haringey in North London scored highly despite high levels of deprivation, while Cambridge ranked lower even though it is one of the least deprived areas in England.

Dame Rachel recommended a minimum set of standards for children's services, a children's emergency fund, and a requirement for "strategic authorities", including mayoral areas and larger councils, to have a deputy mayor for children. She said she had previously resisted calls to "reduce everything to funding", but that the "extent of failure is too great".

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whom she urged to give larger local authorities and mayors a bigger role in education, health, youth services and policing for children, promised more investment in "the success of our young people" and said the government could no longer support their "failure through the benefits system".

Analysis

Why This Matters

The report describes children's services as being in a "state of emergency", with more than one million children referred to mental health services in 2024-25 and a million young people aged 16-24 not in employment, education or training.
It finds life chances vary sharply by where a child lives, with gaps in mental health referral times, GCSE results, safety and dental care that deprivation alone cannot explain.
The commissioner wants minimum service standards, a dedicated children's emergency fund and a deputy mayor for children in every strategic authority, and the prime minister has promised more investment.

Background

The Children's Commissioner for England is an independent role that advocates for children's interests. The Childhood Lottery report, drawing on a hundred metrics, ranks local areas and examines how children fare across health, social care, education, safety and play. It is the commissioner's landmark assessment of children's experiences across England, and its findings have been presented as a national emergency.

The report complicates a simple poverty-based explanation of poor outcomes. Some deprived areas scored highly, and some relatively well-off areas ranked lower, suggesting the quality and structure of local services matter independently of deprivation levels.

Key Perspectives

Dame Rachel de Souza: Argues the status quo amounts to a national emergency. She proposes minimum standards for children's services, an emergency fund to pay for improvements, and a legal expectation that strategic authorities and mayoral areas have a deputy mayor for children who tests every policy for its impact. She acknowledged she had previously resisted calls to "reduce everything to funding", but said the "extent of failure is too great". Prime Minister Andy Burnham: Responded by promising more investment in the success of young people and saying the government could no longer support their "failure through the benefits system". He has described the youth employment and training crisis as a moral failure. Critics/Skeptics: The report's own findings cut against simple answers: deprivation alone does not explain outcomes, and the commissioner herself had resisted a purely funding-based analysis. What remains unresolved is how minimum standards would be enforced, which authorities would pay, and whether an emergency fund would be large enough to close gaps such as the 112-day difference in mental health referral times between the best and worst performing areas.

What to Watch

Whether the government adopts the proposed minimum standards for children's services and creates the children's emergency fund.
The nature and timing of the prime minister's promised investment in young people, and whether it reaches youth services, mental health and education.
Whether referral and outcome gaps narrow, particularly mental health wait times, given the discrepancy between six days in Leicester and 118 days in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Sources

'Postcode lottery' driving children's inequality in England, commissioner warns · BBC News

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.

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SupportedChildren's services in England are in a "state of emergency", England's commissioner warns.BBC News: “Services for children are in a "state of emergency" and young people across England are facing extreme and unfair inequality, a new report says.”
SupportedThe Childhood Lottery report finds mental health, education and safety gaps that deprivation alone cannot explain.BBC News: “Her report, called the Childhood Lottery, found that deprivation alone could not explain the differences in their experiences.”
SupportedDame Rachel de Souza analysed a hundred metrics across health and social care, education, safety and play.BBC News: “has analysed a hundred different metrics including health and social care, education, safety and play”
SupportedThe report concluded that a "postcode lottery" has produced a "litany of failures" for children.BBC News: “concluding that a "postcode lottery" has resulted in a "litany of failures" affecting children.”
SupportedShe wrote in the report that she could not see the status quo as "anything less than a national emergency".BBC News: “In her report she wrote that she could not see the status quo as "anything less than a national emergency".”
SupportedMore than one million children were referred to mental health services in 2024-25.BBC News: “More than one million children had been referred to mental health services in 2024-25”
Supported55% of children do not achieve a good standard in English and maths GCSEs.BBC News: “55% of children do not achieve a good standard in English and maths GCSEs”
SupportedA million people in the UK aged 16-24 are not in employment, education or training.BBC News: “A million people in the UK aged 16-24 are not in employment, education or training”
Supported12% of children said they did not feel safe in their local area.BBC News: “12% of children said they did not feel safe in their local area”
SupportedReferral for a mental health assessment took six days in Leicester but 118 days in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.BBC News: “It took six days for a child to be referred for mental health assessments in Leicester, and 118 days in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.”
SupportedIn Richmond upon Thames, 70% of children achieved good grades in English and maths GCSEs, compared with 31% in Knowsley.BBC News: “In Richmond upon Thames, 70% of children got good grades in English and maths GCSE compared to 31% in Knowsley.”
SupportedPrime Minister Andy Burnham promised more investment in "the success of our young people" and said the government could no longer support their "failure through the benefits system".BBC News: “In a separate article for the Times on Monday, the prime minister promised more investment in "the success of our young people" and said the government could no longer support their "failure through the benefits system."”