Jack Supporting Action for Children

Jack Lopresti attended the parliamentary launch of Action for Children's landmark report into child neglect. The Filton and Bradley Stoke MP has added his name to the charity's petition, signed by over 16,000 members of the public, calling on the Government to intervene early to prevent and tackle child neglect, and will be writing to the Secretary of State for Education, asking him to do more to help neglected children.

The launch of the leading children's charity's review into child neglect, the first of a new annual series, has revealed that over half (51%) of social workers, and a third of police officers (36%) feel 'powerless' to intervene in suspected cases of child neglect. Over 4000 people, including the general public, a range of professionals, and 47 local authorities, took part in the research through polling and focus groups.

The charity has also found a worrying picture of neglected children getting trapped, rather than caught, in the safety net in place to protect them. Social workers questioned felt that the point at which they could intervene in cases of child neglect was too high (42%) and for those children who did meet the level at which they could start to help, many cited a lack of resources (52%) or support services to refer families to (43%) as barriers to acting.

Action for Children is calling on the Government to continue to support professionals to better understand and tackle neglect, and make sure that families who need it get help – as early as possible

Jack commented:

"Neglect corrodes childhoods, robbing the most vulnerable children of hope, happiness and life chances. The report points to the stark reality that neglected children and their parents are being identified, but neither the professionals nor the public feel empowered to help or intervene, particularly at the early stages.

I know that the Government is singing from the same hymn sheet as Action for Children and will continue to do all it can to support vulnerable children and parents. The Minister for Children, Tim Loughton MP made that clear at the launch and there is cross-party consensus on the issue."

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