Government must improve grasp of issues facing vulnerable adolescents – report

A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has called for an improved understanding of the complex issues facing adolescents in England across the board in order to reduce their vulnerability to harm.

The report, “Support for vulnerable adolescents,” looked at the c. 7.3 million 9- to 19-year-olds in England, all of whom are at a heightened risk of experiencing harm.

If these adolescents do not receive effective support at the right time, said the report, then their problemed may become enhanced and require “intense and expensive support” to mitigate harm.

Indeed, the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in 2021 has estimated that the annual social cost of not addressing the needs of all children who have ever needed a social worker is around £23 billion.

With regards to the specific harm they might encounter, the report said this could include mental health difficulties, periods not being in education, employment or training, or contact with the criminal justice system.

The different outcomes often overlap, for example around 72% of children sentenced in 2019-20 were assessed as having mental health concerns, with 71% having communication concerns. There is also variation across the country and by ethnicity.

However, because of the complexity and variety of the challenges involved, the NAO said departments do not treat vulnerable adolescents as one group with a single, specific cross‑government policy programme.

While support for vulnerable adolescents is provided largely by local bodies, the Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for policy for children’s services and education, working with six other departments on its objective to support the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

The NAO said central government has a “limited understanding” of how different risk factors and characteristics combine to cause vulnerability”, adding:

“Referrals of children to secondary mental health services increased by 142% between 2016-17 and 2021-22. The number of children cautioned or sentenced in the criminal justice system fell by 82% (from 85,300 to 15,751) between 2010-11 and 2020-21. Government does not have the information to fully understand what is driving this change.”

They also said the government has a limited knowledge of whether the same adolescents are known to or receiving support from different local services, but has started to try to join up different data sets.

As well as this, there is also no strategic, joined-up approach between different departments in planning and assessing needs, which “risks gaps in the provision of support”. A similar effect is also seen between various local bodies.

The NAO recommended the government “builds on recent data sharing exercises to improve its understanding of risk factors and adverse outcomes, and should address the gaps in the evidence base of what works well to support vulnerable adolescents”.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said:

“Providing the right support to young people at risk of poor outcomes is vital to prevent both harm to individuals, and considerable costs to society, yet gaps in evidence and data mean the Government does not have the understanding it needs of this challenge. Without looking again at its approach, government may not make the best use of the funding it has to improve the chances of these vulnerable young people.”

The full report is available here.