Response to Westminster manifestos: A glimmer of hope, but more must be done to deliver for children

We have now reviewed the manifestos from the three main parliamentary parties for England — The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. We looked at four key areas — child poverty, risk and exploitation, mental health and wellbeing, and children’s social care. So, what did we find?

A commitment to reduce child poverty by scrapping the two-child limit and child benefit cap.

A commitment to create a new offence to protect young and teenage children from exploitation.

A commitment to provide more widespread mental health support for children in schools and communities.

However, disappointingly, these commitments were not universal across the manifestos.

Add to that the lack of focus on urgently reforming children’s social care, and it becomes clear that, while there is a glimmer of hope, all parties need to go further, and be far more ambitious, to deliver for children and young people.

Child Poverty

Child poverty in the UK is out of control and it is damaging children’s lives and future aspirations. It is also a significant factor for other issues, such as mental health and exploitation.

With more than 4.3 million children now living in poverty, the next UK government needs to set binding targets to reduce child poverty and immediately take action. It is therefore disappointing to see only one of the major parties looking to scrap both the two-child limit and the benefit cap which is the most cost-effective way to immediately lift 300,000 children out of poverty.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

It was encouraging to read the approaches to mental health support across manifestos, and the unanimous recognition that young and teenage children need improved support for their mental health and wellbeing. It is particularly promising that parties have committed to making support available both in schools and the community. However, the method, ambition and scale of implementing these commitments will determine their success.

Exploitation and risk

Another key area ahead of the election is reducing child exploitation and abuse, both offline and online. We have long called for child victims of exploitation to be recognised and protected in legislation, not treated as perpetrators. So, we welcome the pledge to create an offence specifically for child criminal exploitation. We appreciate the understanding from all parties that this is an area of extreme concern, and their focus on bringing to justice those seeking to exploit children. Alongside this, it is vital that the next government does more to prevent these serious crimes altogether.

Children’s social care

Finally, the lack of focus given to children’s social care was concerning. There needs to be a far larger, and more urgent, focus on children’s social care and, in particular, investment in early help services.

Successful futures

While there were several policies which we welcome across the manifestos, there is an alarming lack of urgency when it comes to addressing issues facing young and teenage children.

The next Prime Minister must put an emphasis on prevention and early help for young and teenage children alike, to ensure all children can thrive, and their entire childhood provides a secure foundation for a successful future.