A report produced by the office of England's children's commissioner warns that services for young people in parts of the country are in a "state of emergency" and that some children are being "radically failed" by local systems.
Rachel de Souza, the children's commissioner, singled out Middlesbrough and Hounslow among the areas the report identifies as some of the hardest places in England in which to grow up. The report characterises the situation in certain local authorities as particularly acute.
De Souza said that in some places "individual service failures or systemic problems" are so severe that "no child could reasonably be expected to thrive and those that do thrive do so against the odds." The language underlines the report's assessment that deficits in local provision are undermining children's chances of healthy development and wellbeing.
The report's findings put a spotlight on disparities between areas and on the capacity of local services to meet children's needs. It frames the concerns as not merely isolated incidents but, in some cases, as signs of deeper systemic failure in parts of the country.
The children's commissioner's intervention is likely to add pressure on local and national authorities to respond to the report's conclusions, particularly in the places named as among the most challenging environments for young people to grow up in.