Report calls for “COBRA-style meetings” to solve crisis of teenage harm and violence

The Commission on Young Lives has published its long-awaited report, “Hidden in Plain Sight”, which proposes a “national plan of action” to support vulnerable teenagers and reduce adversity, exploitation, and harm.

Formed in September 2021, the Commission has worked to put forward “ambitious, practical, affordable proposals” for the government – one of which being “COBRA-style meetings” to tackle what they describe as a crisis of teenage harm and violence.

Chair of the Commission Anne Longfield CBE said:

“There are parts of our country where the state is completely failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children. This goes beyond failing individuals. It is a failure that affects whole communities, for generation after generation. So often these are already the most marginalised families. So often they are Black, Brown and Minority Ethnic. So often they are poor.”

The failure to protect children has allowed gangs, county lines, serious violence, and criminal exploitation to soar in what Longfield described as an “epidemic” – and many lives are lost in the process.

Longfield suggested it is a national problem hidden in plain sight – “an open secret among those professionals who work with vulnerable children”, be it police, schools, nurses, social workers, or politicians.

The Chair added these problems are “a national threat to our country’s prosperity” which is ruining lives and scarring communities, saying the review found “systems and services that are not trusted, over-stretched, simply unable to meet the needs of many vulnerable children, and unable to stop them falling through the gaps and into danger”.

The full list of recommendations made by the Commission is as follows:

1. The Prime Minister recognises the national threat posed to our country’s prosperity and security by the scourge of serious violence, criminal exploitation, and harm and convenes regular COBRA meetings to tackle the root causes of these problems. The Children’s Minister of State should attend Cabinet.
2. The Department of Education returns to its previous incarnation of Children, Schools, and Families, reflecting the central importance of thriving children and families as part of delivering a world class education system.
3. The Government establishes a new Sure Start Plus Programme, a “Sure Start for Teenagers” network of intervention and support that reduces the risks vulnerable young people face and encourages them to thrive.
4. The Government sets a target of 1,000 Sure Start Plus Hubs by 2027 to co-ordinate and deliver health and education support for vulnerable teenagers. Established in and around schools, the hubs will be run by charities, public bodies, business, and philanthropy organisations.
5. A new drive across Government to reduce and eventually eliminate child poverty, including the re-establishment of a Child Poverty Unit in Whitehall.
6. The Government leads a national mission to identify and remove racial bias in the systems that are currently failing many Black, Brown and Minority Ethnic children.
7. The Government takes a new “Family First” approach that supports families with children at risk of becoming involved with gangs, serious violence, or criminal exploitation and which prevents crisis, financed through the implementation of Children’s Social Care reforms, and delivered by local authorities and family organisations.
8. Reform of the children’s social care system to provide high quality care for all teenagers, taking an invest-to-save approach and delivered by a partnership of Government, local authorities and the third sector. Implementation of the Independent Review into Children’s Social Care recommendations delivered at pace.
9. The recruitment of an army of Youth Practitioners to inspire, support and guide young people in their community, financed by funds from the proceeds of crime and administered by a collaboration of national charities.
10. Opening all secondary school buildings before and after school, at weekends and during holidays, to provide safe and appealing places for teenagers, financed by funds from dormant bank accounts and National Lottery community funding.
11. The Government to promote a new era of inclusive education, ending the culture of exclusion and helping all children to succeed in their education.
12. A one-off £1bn children and young people’s mental health recovery programme, part-financed by a levy on social media companies and mobile phone providers.
13. Reform the youth justice system to accelerate moves towards a fully welfarebased, trauma-informed Child First approach.

Longfield concluded:

“During a decade of unprecedented change and turmoil in their lives, we have frequently taken our eye off the ball for young people, particularly the most vulnerable. It shows in the crises that so many are now facing, hidden in plain sight. It is time to make amends and create a new environment that keeps children safe from exploitation and harm and which boosts the life chances of every child.”

The full report, including case studies and a policy framework for change, is available here.