Children face a national emergency over stark regional inequalities in life chances

A report by England’s Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, describes stark regional inequalities in children’s health, education, safety and welfare as a national “emergency”. It argues that where a child grows up can sharply affect their life chances, and calls for more focused action in areas facing the greatest challenges.

The analysis assessed 162 measures across local authorities. Cheshire East scored highest overall, with 730 out of 960 points, while Middlesbrough scored lowest, at 408; children in Blackpool were 27 times more likely to be missing from education than those in Lambeth. Nationally, a third of children are not school ready at Reception, more than half do not achieve good English and maths GCSE results, 12 per cent feel unsafe locally, and at least one million had active mental health service referrals last year. De Souza proposed a children’s emergency fund and local deputy mayors to help bring services up to a minimum standard.