NSPCC condemns parties’ silence on child protection

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has hit out over a lack of commitment from politicians to protecting child protection resources.

In the run-up to the general election, all three key political parties came out yesterday to reinforce their plans to support families if they get into government.

But Diana Sutton, NSPCC’s head of public affairs, said the charity was “bitterly disappointed” that none of the main political parties used yesterday’s exchanges to announce plans to sustain child protection resources.

“Over the last parliament, since the death of Baby Peter, demands on local children’s services departments have grown significantly. Social workers are struggling with increased case loads,” said Sutton. “It is vital that vulnerable children are not left to suffer from the financial fallout of economic recession. With just a week to go to the general election, we are calling on the political leaders to end their silence on child protection funding now.”

According to the NSPCC, more than 800 parliamentary candidates have signed up to its general election campaign to make child protection a priority for the next government.

The statement came as the NSPCC also revealed that more than two million images of child sex abuse have been circulated by 100 offenders who went on to be convicted in the last 20 months. The charity created the sample by analysing media reports of recent court cases.