77 Percent Rise in Child Abuse Investigations in Past Decade

A record number of investigations into cases of suspected child abuse has prompted councils to ask for emergency funding from the government in the forthcoming Budget. The Local Government Association (LGA) is calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to intervene to safeguard services intended to protect children after a 77 percent increase in the number of investigations into cases of suspected child abuse since 2013. The latest figures published by the Department for Education show the number of section 47 investigations, which take place when there is “reasonable cause” to suspect a child is suffering or likely to suffer serious harm, reached 225,400 in 2023. This equates to 618 cases a day—66 more per day than in 2019—with the cost of investigating these cases increasing by 11 percent in the last year alone, according to the LGA....