CONCERNS about child neglect is the top reason for a children’s charity to make a referral to local agencies – according to the NSPCC.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, the NSPCC Helpline made 2029 referrals to local agencies in the Midlands, where neglect was believed to be the greatest risk factor for a child.
This accounted for 32 per cent of the 6,393 referrals made in the region last year.
When concerns are raised through the Helpline, the NSPCC refers the matter to a local agency, such as police or children’s services if additional support is deemed necessary.
Adults who got in touch with the Helpline concerned about neglect spoke about witnessing children not having access to food, safe shelter, clothing, shoes, being left home alone and not having their emotional and physical needs met.
Financial hardship, a lack of access to essential services, insecure housing and other challenges can create an environment where a child’s needs cannot be met.
Chris Sherwood, chief executive at the NSPCC, said: “It is profoundly concerning that, in 2025, so many children across the UK continue to suffer from neglect. Unless the Government takes urgent action to address this crisis, children’s opportunities to thrive will continue to be blighted by the devastating consequences of neglect.
“Our Helpline staff hear from thousands of adults every year with widely ranging concerns. The fact that a quarter of those have been about child neglect sadly confirms our view that this is a deeply entrenched problem.
“The Government must take this moment with the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to recognise this as a national emergency and commit to building a neglect strategy that ensures families in England get support before it causes irreversible harm.”
In fact, previous research from the NSPCC found that across healthcare, the police, children’s social care and education in England, over half said they had seen an increase in neglect cases during their professional life with 90 per cent saying they believed the rising cost of living and poverty rates was a driving factor.
The latest Helpline data reflects a continuing trend and deeply entrenched problem, rather than an isolated occurrence.
For four consecutive years, child neglect has been the most frequently reported concern by adults to the Helpline, accumulating almost 60,000 child welfare contacts across the UK.
This new Helpline data has been published as a new amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was debated by Baroness Tyler and Baroness Walmsley.
The amendment put forward by peers asked the Government to introduce a national neglect strategy and improved guidance for better tackling neglect.
The charity is calling on the Government to treat neglect as an urgent, national emergency and are supporting this new amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
