Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 - NCB Briefing

NCB believes that HM Treasury has listened to many of the arguments put forward by the children’s sector and we applaud them for this. The new investment in public services and additional financial support for families announced in the budget will undoubtedly make a real difference to the lives of many children. But creating lasting change must mean sustained growth in other areas of public spending too.

The Spending Review must be a turning point for children and families.

The prominence given to the needs of babies, children and young people in the Spending Review, when they are so often left out of these types of announcements, provides a glimmer of hope that we are embarking on a path to build back childhood after the pandemic.

Building Back Childhood – the Case for Investment

The #BuildBackChildhood campaign, led by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), has the support of over 700 organisations from across the children’s sector. Our campaign report set out the strong financial and moral case for investing in:

  1. Prevention and early intervention;
  2. A holistic view of ‘education’ recovery;
  3. Improving living standards for low-income families;
  4. Giving every child the best start in life.

NCB’s verdict on the Spending Review

NCB believes that HM Treasury has listened to many of the arguments put forward by the children’s sector and we applaud them for this. The new investment in public services and additional financial support for families announced in the budget will undoubtedly make a real difference to the lives of many children.

But creating lasting change must mean sustained growth in other areas of public spending too. Investment is still urgently needed in health visiting, children’s social care and mental health services. And while money for public services is vital, high rates of poverty remain an insurmountable barrier to levelling up opportunities for children. Rises to the national living wage and the changes to Universal Credit are positive for working families, but a plan is still urgently needed for children growing up in households where no one is in work.

This briefing measures the commitments in the Spending Review against the children’s sector’s vision and sets out what more could be done to build back childhood.