Dear Councillor John Cotton,

Birmingham City Council have announced plans to make £300m in budget savings. As paediatricians we are concerned at headlines of £51.5million savings expected to be forced upon the Children, Young People and Families department.

Years of austerity and the Covid-19 pandemic have increased extreme child poverty, and diminished early years development. This has caused a surge in child mental health referrals, increased the number of children in care, and more children are suffering from ill health through preventable causes.

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) have stated that government failure to prioritise post-pandemic needs of children in England was a “massive missed opportunity”. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health commented that the ACDS report provided “alarming evidence that the UK is failing too many of its children".

Children’s service directors have a legal obligation to provide services addressing education, wellbeing and safeguarding of all children in their council area. The threatened cuts will severely handicap our ability to keep children safe and well. As ever, the vulnerable and marginalised will be placed at the highest risk.

The children and young people of Birmingham are not responsible for the current financial predicament of the City Council. Even prior to these proposed cuts, the outlook for children and young people had been poor. With these cuts we are condemning our city’s children, and our city, to a worse future.

These cuts will be damaging and their effect long lingering. We understand the difficult financial situation that the Council faces, but we urge you to reconsider funding priorities, and your legal and moral obligation to children in this city.